Posted: Feb 13, 2025
FORT MYERS, Fla.- Jake Mueller went a perfect 4 for 4 and drove in five to lead a dominating effort for the #4 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers in their Citrus Conference opener Thursday against St. Petersburg as the Bucs rolled 15-6 in a six inning run rule for their 11th consecutive win.
FSW starter Brady Jones got things going with a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless top of the 1st and the FSW immediately put the Purple and Aqua out in front as an RBI single from Jake Mueller and a two run bullet out to center off the bat of Nathan Fink put the Bucs up 4-0 after one inning of action.
St. Pete manufactured a run to get on the board in the 2nd but FSW answered with another crooked number as Luke Orfi singled home a pair and Anthony Ruocco brought him home later in the inning to make it a 7-1 game. The Bucs weren't done yet as they loaded the bases with two outs and plated two more on a single to left from Nik Pereira to extend the FSW lead to 9-1 after two.
The Titans took advantage of a walk and a hit batter to score a pair in the 3rd to cut the Bucs lead to 9-3.
The Bucs got the runs back and then some in the bottom of the 3rd as Ruocco snuck a double inside the right field line to bring home a pair and Mueller laced a single back through the box to put FSW up 12-3 at the end of three.
St. Pete kept fighting, getting three more in the 5th to get back into the game momentarily at 12-6.
Once again FSW answered right away and once again Mueller was in the middle of it, this time launching a three run home run to left to open the lead back to nine at 15-6.
Both sides went quietly in the 6th and the game went to the 7th with the score still 15-6 in favor of FSW.
With the eight run rule in play, the Bucs went to Cole Greer out of the bullpen to finish things off and finish things off he did, striking out the side in a 1-2-3 fame to close out a 15-6 win for the Bucs in the series opener.
The top of the FSW order was electric once again as Orfi was 2-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs while stealing four bases in the leadoff spot, Carlos Sanchez scored three times in the two hole, Ruocco continued to swing a hot bat going 2-3 with a double, three RBIs, and three runs scored, while Mueller put together a perfect 4-4 day with five RBIs and three runs scored.
Nicholas Lorenz got the win on the mound, going three innings out of the bullpen, allowing six hits and three runs to improve to 2-1 on the year.
The Bucs win their 11th straight, their third longest winning streak in program history to improve to 11-1 overall while St. Petersburg's struggles continue as they fall to 2-9.
The Bucs and Titans will wrap up their three game conference opening series Saturday in Clearwater with a doubleheader beginning at 1 PM.
