FORT PIERCE, Fla.- The #4 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers dropped a 6-5 extra innings affair to the #22 Indian River State Pioneers in the opening game of a key three game Citrus Conference series Thursday night on the road in Fort Pierce. 

 

The Bucs got out to a quick start as Jake Mueller drove home Anthony Ruocco with a 1^st inning single to give FSW an early 1-0 lead. 

 

Indian River answered right away, getting four straight one out hits to push a pair of runs across before a two out RBI knock made it 3-1 Pioneers after one. 

 

FSW had a chance to get right back in it in the 2^nd as they loaded the bases with nobody out, but a shallow pop out, a strikeout, and a ground ball ended the rally and the threat and kept the Pioneers up 3-1 at the end of two. 

 

The Bucs loaded the bases again in the 3^rd and this time Devin Parks came through with a one out RBI single to cut the Indian River lead to 3-2, but a strikeout and another pop out left the sacks packe at inning's end and kept the Bucs down by one after three. 

 

Indian River got a run back in the 4^th on a passed ball to extend their lead to 4-2. 

 

FSW continued to put pressure on the Pioneers in the 5^th as back to back walks to start the frame set the table and Brock Knoerr singled back up the middle to make it a one run game once again at 4-3. The Bucs loaded the bases on a hit batter and Ruocco pulled a single through the left side to drive home a run and level the score at 4 a piece.  With the bases loaded and one out, the Bucs got a sacrifice fly to center to push the go ahead run across, but the rally was squashed by a runner leaving early from second to keep it a 5-4 game in favor of the Bucs midway through. 

 

The Bucs bullpen held the lead through stretch time, but the FSW bats couldn't add any insurance and it cost them as the Pioneers strung together a pair of doubles in the bottom of the 7^th to score a run and knot the score at 5. 

 

Mueller ripped a one out double in the 8^th and Nathan Fink was intentionally walked to put two on with one out, but again the Bucs couldn't come through with the big hit and left the runners stranded and kept the game tied at 5 after eight. 

 

Cole Greer kept the game right there with a scoreless 8^th and then 9^th but the FSW offense couldn't get anything going as the game went to extras deadlocked at 5. 

 

The Bucs went down in order in the 10^th and Greer got a pickoff to put together a defacto 1-2-3 bottom of the 10^th to keep the game tied at 5 as they went to the 11th. 

 

The Bucs put the go ahead run on in the 11^th but for the third time in the game, they saw the inning end on the basepaths as they were thrown out trying to steal second to keep it a 5-5 game. 

 

Indian River got back to back singles in the bottom of the 11^th to put two on with nobody out and a hit batter loaded the bases, still with nobody out in the frame. The Bucs got a pop up for the first out of the inning and thought they had out number two on a ground ball on the infield, but the throw home pulled the Bucs catcher off the plate and Indian River scored the game winning run to walk it off 6-5. 

 

The Bucs finished with 12 hits in the loss including three by Mueller who finished 3-6 with FSW's only extra base hit of the game, a double, and an RBI. Greer was the tough luck loser, going 3 2/3 innings, allowing just three hits and one run, but it was the deciding run as he fell to 0-1 on the year. 

 

FSW loses their second straight for the first time this season as they fall to 13-3 overall and 3-1 in Citrus Conference play while Indian River pulls even with them in the league standings at 12-3 overall and 3-1 in conference action. 

 

The two teams will hook up again on Saturday at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers in a doubleheader beginning at noon in Fort Myers.