FORT MYERS, Fla.- We wrap up our countdown of the Top 10 FSW Athletics Moments of the 2020-2021 year today with our top moment; FSW Softball winning the school's first NJCAA National Championship.
If you are familiar with FSW Athletics, there was little drama as to where this countdown was going to end at today.
After their official practice on the fields at the Pacific Avenue Athletic Complex in Yuma, Arizona as they prepared for the 2021 NJCAA National Tournament, Florida SouthWestern Head Coach Robert Iamurri gathered his team on the outfield grass and said "The past three times we have been here, I have told our teams that we could win the tournament. I am telling you guys today that we are going to win this tournament" and with that, a five day journey commenced that eventually ended in just that, a National Championship for the Bucs.
The Bucs had a roller coaster ride to the title game as they earned a pair of blowout wins and a pair of nail-biting wins, the latter two finding their way onto our top 10 countdown. They arrived at the program's first Championship game across the field from the Grayson Vikings from Denison, Texas. Offense was at a premium early on as the Bucs and Vikings traded zeros through the first two frames. Grayson broke through with an unearned run in the 3rd to take a 1-0 lead and it remained that way as the game flew to the 6th. With one out in the 6th, the Bucs finally got on the board as Taylor Jensen cracked a 1-0 pitch deep and out to left center to tie the game at 1. It remained a 1-1 game to the 7th when the Bucs kept the momentum on their side as Iamurri called on pinch hitter Chelsea Brown with two on and one out and the freshman came through in the clutch, lacing a single up the middle to drive both runs home and give FSW their first lead of the game at 3-1. Speedsters Janessa Plummer and Rebeca Laudino both singled to load the bases up for the Bucs and next it was Natavia Ellis' turn to come through and she did that with a bullet to left to bring home two more insurance runs to stretch the FSW lead to 5-1 as they went to the bottom of the 7th. That was more than enough for Bucs starter Alyssa O'Donnell who retired the Vikings in order in the 7th and with that the Bucs celebration started as they clinched their first National Championship in school history with the 5-1 victory.
At tournament's end, a number of Bucs were rewarded for their performance during the week as Janessa Plummer was named the Most Valuable Player, Natavia Ellis the Most Outstanding Offensive Player, Taylor Jensen the Most Outstanding Defensive Player, and Rebeca Laudino, Owen Bowers, and Alyssa O'Donnell were all named to the All-Tournament Team.
That concludes our countdown of the top 10 FSW Athletics moments of 2020-2021, to relive any of our top 10 moments, click the links below for a full recap.
#10- Roberts Breaks Steals Record
#9- Williams' Monster Double-Double
#8- Bucs Volleyball Clinches First Conference Title
#7- Knowles Becomes Bucs Baseball's First 1st Team All-American
#6- Bucs Softball Completes Furious Comeback at Nationals
#5- Seven Former Bucs Play in March Madness
#4- Bucs Volleyball Qualifies For First National Tournament
#3- Reid's Catch Saves Game/Makes SportsCenter Top 10