CLEARWATER, FLA.- The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers posted back to back shutouts and played errorless softball Tuesday night in Clearwater, dispatching of St. Petersburg 9-0 and 7-0 to improve to 44-1 on the year.
The Bucs jumped in front in game one and never looked back. They cracked the board first on a perfectly executed double steal, including a thievery of home by Rebeca Laudino to give them a 1-0 lead. Moments later Owen Bowers continued her tear at the plate with an RBI double and four batters into the game it was already 2-0 FSW.
A leadoff triple from Paris Woods and a passed ball later in the frame gave the Bucs a 3-0 lead in the third.
Woods' second triple of the game came one inning later, this time doing some damage, clearing the bases for three more FSW runs and she would later score on a safety squeeze bunt to open it up to a 7-0 Buccaneer advantage.
St. Petersburg had their only real scoring threat of the game in the fourth as they put two on with two out, but FSW starter Sarah Lawton got a harmless pop up to end the inning and the threat as the Bucs remained in front 7-0.
FSW put the game away in the fifth as Madison Johnson popped a two out, two run single to left to make it 9-0 and Haley Ellefson came in out of the Buccaneer bullpen to preserve the shutout and kick in the run rule in a 9-0 FSW victory.
The Bucs banged out 13 hits in the win, getting a perfect 3 for 3 effort from Woods who drove in three and also scored two runs. Laudino also had a 3 for 3 game at the top of the order, scoring three times and also reaching base via a walk. The reigning FCSAA Pitcher of the Week Lawton improved to 9-1 on the year with four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six.
#1 FSW/ST. PETERSBURG GAME ONE BOX SCORE
It was more of the same for the Bucs in game two, it just took them a little bit longer to get things going.
The game was scoreless through three innings as both teams' starters remained in relative control through the first trip through the order.
The Bucs broke through in the fourth though as Woods launched her third extra base hit of the day, this one an RBI double to give FSW a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning Woods herself scored on an RBI single from Natavia Ellis to put the Bucs in front 2-0.
FSW starter Kelsi Collins held the lead from there, working out of trouble in the bottom of the fifth and then blazing through a 1-2-3 sixth to keep it a 2-0 game in favor of the Bucs.
The Bucs added some insurance in the seventh as doubles from Ellis and Laudino made it a 3-0 game and a wild pitch pushed another run home to make it 4-0. Another RBI knock from Woods pushed it to a 5-0 FSW lead and a pinch hit, two run single from Elsie Rivera put the game out of reach as the Bucs cushioned their lead to 7-0.
The Titans put two on in the seventh as they looked for their first run of the night, but Collins wasn't having any of that, getting a harmless ground ball to second to finish the night off, wrapping up the Bucs second straight shutout in a 7-0 victory.
The Bucs outhit the Titans 9-6 in the contest, getting three hits and an RBI from Ellis and two hits apiece from Woods and Johnson in the game. Collins spun a complete game shutout, allowing just six hits, she didn't walk a single batter as she improved to 20-0 on the year.
#1 FSW/ST. PETERSBURG GAME TWO BOX SCORE
FSW is now 44-1 on the year and 11-1 in Suncoast Conference play. St. Petersburg falls to 23-18 overall and 5-7 in league action.
The Bucs are back in action on Thursday at home at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers when they host the Hillsborough Hawks in a 5 PM doubleheader.