MELBOURNE, Fla.- The formula has worked all season long for the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers, grab a lead in the middle innings and hand it over to your bullpen to finish it off.  Unfortunately for the Purple and Aqua, that formula was foiled by a five run 8^th inning comeback by Eastern Florida on Friday as the Titans stormed back late to erase a 5-3 Buccaneer lead to win it 8-5 in the two teams series opener. 

 

Things got off to a shaky start for the Bucs as a pair of walks and a hit batter gave the Titans ducks on the pond without having to put the ball in play before a one out single brought a run home to put Eastern up 1-0 after one inning of action. 

 

The Titans loaded the bases again in the 2^nd thanks in part to two more FSW walks but this time the Bucs worked out of the jam to keep it a 1-0 game at the end of two. 

 

The traffic on the bases continued for Eastern in the 3^rd and they cashed in their second run of the game on a two out single the other way to make it 2-0 a third of the way home. 

 

The Bucs went in order in the 4^th and the Titans continued tacking on runs with a solo home run to dead center with one out in the frame to make it 3-0. 

 

FSW finally broke through in the 5^th on the back of their hottest hitter as AJ Shaver ripped a two out double off the wall in center to bring home a pair and get the Bucs back to within one at 3-2 midway through. 

 

The Bucs took their first lead of the game in the 6^th as Derek Williams walked and Joel Gardner singled to start the Bucs half of the inning before Albert Serrano launched a three run shot to left to put FSW in front 5-3. 

 

The Bucs looked like they were in good shape as Kelan Hoover blanked the Titans in the 6^th and 7th, sending the game to the 8^th with FSW still in front 5-3. 

 

The Bucs couldn't add any insurance in the top of the 8^th and it came back to bite them.  A four pitch leadoff walk started the Titans rally in the bottom of the 8^th and a pair of singled brought a run home to make it a one run game at 5-4. One batter later, a second straight single knotted the score at 5 and after back to back walks loaded the bases, two more Titan singles cleared the bases and put Eastern in front 8-5. 

 

FSW had a chance to bring the tying run to the on deck circle in the 9th, but a baserunning blunder erased that possibility as Eastern faced the minimum in the frame and closed things out to take the series opener 8-5. 

 

The final lines looked nearly the same as the two sides had 12 hits and an error each, but FSW pitching issued 10 free passes (9 walks, 1 hit batter), while Eastern yielded just one.  

 

Shaver paced the offense, going 3-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs at the top of the order while Gardner finished 3-4 with a run scored. Colin Brodeur was collared with the loss, allowing four hits and three runs in just 2/3 of an inning to fall to 4-2 on the year.  

 

FSW drops to 27-17 overall and 9-7 in Southern Conference play.  The loss is a big one for the Bucs as FSW falls two games behind Miami Dade for the conference lead with just five to go while Indian River remains just one game back of the Bucs in the race for the second and final postseason spot from the Southern Conference. Eastern Florida, who has already been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention, improves to 21-23 overall and 4-12 in league play. 

 

The same two teams will hook up tomorrow in Melbourne in a 2 PM first pitch from Bruce Bochy Field.