FORT MYERS, FLA.- Playing the second Suncoast Conference game of a back to back Saturday afternoon, the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers overcame a slow start for a workman like effort in a 6-4 win over South Florida State at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers to improve to 22-3 overall and 4-0 in conference play.
After playing 11 innings Friday night in Bradenton and arriving back home early Saturday morning, the Bucs came out sleepwalking against the Panthers, committing a pair of first inning errors to allow South Florida State to get on the board and take an early 1-0 lead.
They responded in the bottom half of the inning, getting a sacrifice fly off the bat of Tommy Joseph to tie the score at 1.
A two out single for the Panthers in the third put them back in front 2-1, but again FSW answered as Mikey Burke tripled to lead off the inning, scored on a South Florida State error, and later in the inning Joseph lifted another sac fly to put the Bucs on top 3-2 after three.
Joseph collected his third RBI of the game in the fifth and Jose Marcano stroked a two out RBI single to center to push the Bucs lead to 5-2.
FSW starter Mitch Myers worked around trouble again in the sixth, notching his eighth strikeout of the afternoon to dispatch of the Panthers threat and keep the Bucs in front 5-2.
South Florida got a run back on a misplayed ball on the infield in the seventh to cut the FSW lead to 5-3 at stretch time.
Burke continued his big day with a two out RBI single in the eighth to give the Bucs an insurance run and South Florida managed just a single tally in their final at bats in the ninth as FSW finished off a 6-4 win in the series opener.
FSW was outhit in the contest 8-7, but again drew five free passes and were hit by three pitches in the win. Burke led the offense with three hits in four trips to the plate while Joseph drove in three runs on the day without the benefit of a hit. Myers earned the win to improve to 4-1 on the year, gutting through six innings, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out eight. Derek Rascher earned his second save of the season, going the final three innings to close it out for the Bucs.
FSW improves to 22-3 on the year and 4-0 in Suncoast Conference play with the win while South Florida State falls to 9-16 overall and 1-3 in league play.
The same two teams will be in action on Monday in Avon Park before returning to City of Palms Park for the series finale on Wednesday.