Posted: May 08, 2022
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #8 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers battled back late from a 3-0 deficit to tie game three of the Fort Myers Regional Sunday afternoon at City of Palms Park in Downtown Fort Myers, but a 9th inning run from Indian River broke a 3-3 tie and the Bucs were unable to score in their final trips to the plate, falling 4-3 to end their 2022 season.
The game started Saturday before the skies opened up with Indian River leading the contest 1-0 after two innings of play.
When the game resumed on Sunday the pitching for both sides was locked in. FSW sent Brian Holiday to the mound to try to keep them in the game and he did just that, getting some help from Braden Forchic in right field who threw out a runner at the plate to keep Indian River off the board in the 3rd before putting up goose eggs in the 4th and 5th frames to keep it a 1-0 game midway through.
The Bucs had their first real scoring threat in the bottom of the 5th when they put two on with two out after a Forchic single, but a fly out to center ended the threat and kept FSW in trail position to the 6th.
Neither side scored in the 6th, but the Pioneers loaded the bases in the 7th before a ground rule double to center plated a pair to cushion their lead to 3-0 at stretch time.
With runners on the corner and two outs in the bottom of the 7th, the Bucs caught a break as a wild pitch on a strike out allowed a run to score and the inning to remain alive and one batter later they made the Pioneers pay as Satchell Norman drilled a double off the wall in left center to score two and tie the score at 3.
The Bucs used a double play ball in the top of the 8th to keep the Pioneers off the board, but they went down in order in their half of the frame to send the game to the 9th still tied at 3.
A hit batter to begin the top of the 9th followed by a wild pitch put a runner in scoring position with nobody out for the Pioneers without them swinging the bat and after a perfect sacrifice bunt moved the runner to third, a single to right pushed the run home and put Indian River in front 4-3.
Down to their final three outs in the bottom of the 9th, the Bucs were unable to mount any sort of rally, going down in order to end the game with Indian River taking the decisive game three 4-3.
Indian River outhit FSW 9-6 in the game with Forchic the only Buc with multiple hits in the loss, going 2-5 with a run scored. Norman had the Bucs only two RBIs of the game with his 7th inning double. Holiday gave the Bucs 4 1/3 innings, allowing just one earned run while striking out four but didn't factor in the decision. Riley Skeen took the loss, allowing a run in 1 1/3 innings of work to fall to 1-1 on the year.
The Bucs season comes to a close with the loss, finishing up 2022 at 41-16 while Indian River advances to the Region VIII Final Four next week in Lakeland with a 32-17 record.