FORT MYERS, FLA.- On Sophomore Day at the park, it was a tale of two games for the #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers as they took on Hillsborough in a Suncoast Conference duel. Game one was all Bucs from the start in a 10-1 FSW run rule victory. However, game two went to the wire as it took an FSW comeback and eventually a two out walk off single in the seventh to give the Bucs a 3-2 win to sweep the twinbill and improve to 49-1 on the year.
It didn't take the Bucs any time to get going in game one as Rebeca Laudino singled on the first pitch of the FSW half of the first to extend her collegiate record hit streak to 49 games. She scored a short time later as Lindsey Corbin singled up the middle to make it 1-0 FSW and later in the inning Paris Woods singled to score Corbin to push the lead to 2-0. With the bases loaded and two outs, Pallas Potter was hit by a pitch to force home the Bucs third run of the inning to give them a 3-0 lead after one inning of action.
A Buccaneers error allowed Hillsborough to extend their half of the second and they made FSW pay with a two out single up the middle to cut the Buc lead to 3-1 after 1 ½.
FSW got that run back and more in the third as Natavia Ellis and Haley Ellefson drove in runs to make it 5-1 and later on Ellis scored on a passed ball before Corbin brought home their fourth run of the inning on a perfectly placed bunt to make it 7-1 FSW.
The Bucs poured it on in the fourth, scoring three more times to make it 10-1 and Sarah Lawton did the rest in the circle for FSW, finishing off the run rule win to give the Bucs game one.
FSW outslugged Hillsborough 12-1 in the game, getting multi-hit games from Corbin, Woods, Ellis, and Owen Bowers in the victory. Lawton was as good as the offense, going the distance and allowing just one hit while striking out five to earn her 10th win of the season in the circle for FSW.
#1 FSW/HILLSBOROUGH GAME ONE BOX SCORE
There was a little bit more drama in game two of the doubleheader and it started right away as Hillsborough lashed three straight hits to begin the game and got a run on a wild pitch and a groundout to take an early 2-0 lead on the Bucs.
A leadoff double from Bowers in the second and a one out single up the middle from Ellis got FSW going and cut the Hawks lead in half at 2-1.
It remained 2-1 to the fourth when a leadoff single from Woods and a two out single from Potter evened the score up at two.
The Bucs put two on with two out behind Woods and Potter once again in the sixth, but they couldn't push anything across by innings end and the game flew to the seventh still knotted at two.
Lawton came in out of the Bucs bullpen with a runner on in the seventh, but put out the fire, retiring all three batters she faced to keep the game tied at two.
A leadoff walk from Laudino in the seventh got the Bucs going and she advanced to third on a sac bunt from Corbin to give FSW two shots at the win. A pop up on the infield took away one of those chances, but with two outs, Bowers came through with a blooper to left to bring Laudino home and send the Bucs into a celebration as they took the win 3-2 to sweep the doubleheader over the Hawks.
Bowers and Woods each had two hits to lead the FSW offense in the win. Lawton earned her 11th win of the season out of the FSW bullpen, setting down all three hitters she faced in the seventh. Kelsi Collins settled down after a rough start to go six innings, allowing six hits and two runs in a no decision.
#1 FSW/HILLSBOROUGH GAME TWO BOX SCORE
The wins push FSW to 49-1 through their first 50 games of the season while improving their Suncoast Conference record to 16-1, one win away from clinching their fourth straight conference title. Hillsborough drops to 16-25 overall and 6-12 in conference play.
The Bucs are back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Avon Park to take on South Florida State in a doubleheader beginning at 5 PM.
