Posted: Mar 26, 2024
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #3 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers got an outstanding effort in the circle from Esmee Ames in a 1-0 game one win over the Miami Dade Sharks and used some clutch hitting in game two for a 6-2 win as they swept the Sharks Tuesday afternoon at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers to remain in 1st place in the Citrus Conference standings at the midway point of the conference season.
Bucs starter Esmee Ames set the tone right away, striking out the side in the 1st and two more in the 2nd to keep it a scoreless contest through two.
Ames fired 1-2-3 frames in the 3rd and 4th to keep the Sharks off the board, but the FSW offense couldn't get anything going as it remained a 0-0 game as the game flew to the 5th.
Miami Dade got their only hit of the game to begin the 5th but Ames dialed up two more strikeouts to keep the shutout intact.
The Bucs got something going in the bottom of the 5th as back to back two out singles put a runner in scoring position for the second straight inning, but a lineout ended the threat and kept it 0-0 after five.
The Bucs finally broke through in the 6th as Sietske Drijvers walked to lead off the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a single through the right side from Virginia Mambelli to make it 1-0 FSW.
That was all the Bucs needed as Ames did the rest, blowing through the middle of the Miami Dade order 1-2-3 in the 7th to close out the 1-0 shutout victory for the Bucs.
Ames was the story, dealing a one hit shutout for her 11th win of the season while striking out 10 Shark hitters and walking just one. FSW had just four hits themselves with Mambelli driving in the game winner with her 6th inning single.
It looked like runs were going to be hard to come by once again in game two as neither team scratched the scoreboard through the first two innings as the game flew to the 3rd scoreless.
That changed in the 3rd as Miami Dade got a two run home run for their first runs of the day and threatened later in the inning before stranding the bases loaded with a 2-0 lead.
The Bucs offense answered right back as Skylar Brennan drove home a run to tie things up and then scored herself to put the Bucs ahead on a two run triple from Emily Allegood to make it a 3-2 game. Later in the inning Ella Moore hit a line drive through the right side to bring Allegood home and make it a 4-2 game at the end of three.
Bucs reliever Leah Meyer gave FSW a much needed 1-2-3 shutdown inning in the top of the 4th and the Bucs offense was back at it in the bottom half of the frame as Membelli drove home another run on a groundout and the Bucs took advantage of a Shark error to plate another and make it 6-2 after four.
The Bucs looked like they were going to blow the game open in the 5th as they loaded the bases with nobody out, but a groundout and a line drive double play ended the threat and kept them off the board with the score remaining 6-2.
Neither team managed to put anything together in the 6th and Meyer closed things out by retiring the side in order in the 7th as FSW completed the sweep with a 6-2 game two victory.
The Bucs outhit the Sharks 8-3 in game two with McCray going 2-4 with a run scored at the top of the order and Mambelli again factoring in, reaching base twice while scoring a run and driving in another. Meyer was dialed in in the circle, going 4 1/3 shutout innings, allowing just one hit while earning the win to improve to 3-0 on the year.
The Bucs sweep the season series with the Sharks as they improve to 32-4 overall and 19-3 in conference action. Miami Dade falls to 10-21 overall and 8-15 in league play.
FSW is back in action on Thursday when they travel to Winter Haven to take on Polk State in doubleheader action beginning at 4 PM.
