FORT MYERS, Fla.- Our #9 moment of the FSW Athletics year comes courtesy of the Bucs Baseball team, who made it be known that they would be a force to be reckon with in 2019 with this result.
Going into the 2019 season, a week two doubleheader between the two-time defending National Champion Chipola Indians and a fourth year program in Florida SouthWestern, who hadn't managed to break the .500 mark in their first three seasons, didn't exactly light up the radar as a can't miss matchup.
Things got a little bit more interesting when the Bucs jumped out to a 4-0 start to the year, including a win over perennial power Miami Dade, and then amped up a level higher when FSW downed #2 Walters State in a rain shortened contest for their first win over a ranked team since the programs resurgence. But still, the three-time National Champion Indians were prohibited favorites over the upstart Bucs right?
FSW went into the matchup unfazed by Chipola's history and wasted little time jumping on the Indians as Tyler Solomon crushed the second pitch of the game over the wall in center field to quickly give the Bucs a 1-0 lead. Game one of the twinbill went back and forth through seven with the contest tied at three at stretch time. A Chipola home run with two outs in the eighth gave the Indians a 4-3 lead, but with their backs to the wall, the new kids on the block responded by knotting the game in the ninth and sending the game to extra innings tied at four. The Bucs exploded in the 10th, sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring eight times to blow the game wide open before going on to win 12-4 in the opener.
With confidence on their side, the Bucs again jumped out in front in game two as they eyed a sweep of the Indians. By the fifth inning, the two teams found themselves tied again, this time at two. Chipola went back ahead with their third home run of the day and that is how the game went to the ninth with the Indians leading 3-2. Just as they did in the first game, the Bucs responded to the pressure, tying the game at three and then loading the bases with two outs in the final frame. That's when Drake Dobyanski came up with his biggest swing of the year, sending a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left for a grand slam to give the Bucs a 7-3 lead which they locked down in the bottom of the inning for a sweep of the Indians.
The sweep put Bucs Baseball back on the map and helped them to their best start in program history at 11-0. FSW went on to win a program record 40 games in 2019 while capturing their first Suncoast Conference Championship since their respawn in 2016.
Stay tuned tomorrow for our #8 moment of the 2018-19 FSW Athletics year, which will highlight one of many Buccaneer award winners this season.
#10- Sarah Lawton's Perfect Game
#9- Bucs Baseball Sweeps Chipola
#8- Revealed July 10th
#7- Revealed July 11th
#6- Revealed July 12th
#5- Revealed July 15th
#4- Revealed July 16th
#3- Revealed July 17th
#2- Revealed July 18th
#1- Revealed July 19th