PALATKA, Fla.- The #15 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers lost their third close game in three days Sunday afternoon in Palatka as they were unable to hold a late 2-1 lead in a 4-3 loss to St. Johns River to fall to 8-6 on the year.  

 

The Bucs had a number of chances to take the early lead against the Vikings on Sunday, putting two runners on in each of the first three innings, but were unable to cash any of them in as the game remained scoreless after two and a half innings of action. 

 

St. Johns River took advantage on the other side, using a pair of singles and a wild pitch to plate the first run of the game and take a 1-0 lead on the Bucs. 

 

The Bucs had traffic again in the 4^th, once more putting two runners on and once more unable to come through in the clutch, leaving their seventh and eighth runners on base through four to keep it a 1-0 game in favor of the Vikings. 

 

FSW starter Chase Chatman kept the Vikings right there with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 4^th but inexplicably, the Bucs put two more on in the 5^th and for the fifth consecutive inning, had nothing to show for it at the end of the frame as it remained a 1-0 game.  

 

The Bucs put runners on second and third with one out in the 6^th to give them two baserunners for the sixth straight frame, but this time, FSW Head Coach Ben Bizier went to his bench to try to get the job done and he pulled the right string as he went to Hunter Fitz-Gerald who came through with a two run double to center to get the Bucs on the board and give them the lead 2-1 after five and a half. 

 

The lead didn't last long as the Vikings came out in the bottom of the 6^th with three straight hits to level the score at 2 and later in the inning a dropped third strike and a Buccaneer error allowed two more runs to score to make it 4-2 St. Johns River. 

 

Satchell Norman homered with one out in the 7^th to get the Bucs back to within one and Ben Petschke came on out of the FSW bullpen to keep the game right there to the 9^th.

 

Down to their final out in the 9^th the Bucs made some noise, taking advantage of a Viking error and a walk to once again put the tying and go ahead run on with two outs in the frame. Fittingly though, the Bucs left them both on after a lineout to left to end the ball game, finishing with 13 runners left on base in a 4-3 loss. 

 

The Bucs actually outhit the Vikings 9-6 in the loss, but again the error bug bit FSW at an inopportune time, costing them two unearned runs in the one run defeat.  Ronny Medina and Jose Izarra each had two hits for FSW while Fitz-Gerald finished 1-2 with two RBIs. Chatman took the loss, allowing five hit and two earned runs in five innings pitched to fall to 1-1 on the year.  Petschke gave the Bucs a chance late with three scoreless frames out of the FSW bullpen. 

 

FSW drops three of four on the weekend to fall to 8-6 on the year while St. Johns River improves to 9-4. 

 

The Bucs continue a busy schedule on Monday when they return home to City of Palms Park in Fort Myers to take on Indian River in a 2 PM first pitch.