Posted: May 25, 2025
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- In the midst of their first trip to the Juco World Series in program history, the #6 Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers got a true taste of what Baseball in the Rockies is all about on Sunday night under the lights at Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction, Colorado as they went back and forth with #5 Blinn Buccaneers before watching a 13-10 9th inning lead erased on one swing of the bat to lose 14-13 and end their historic 2025 season.
For the second straight night, things got off to a rough start for the Bucs on Sunday as Blinn struck for two runs on three hits in the top of the 1st to take a quick 2-0 lead.
The Bucs got a run back right away in the bottom of the inning though as Anthony Ruocco launched a towering homer into the night to lead off the FSW first to cut the Blinn lead in half at 2-1.
A leadoff walk in the 2nd came back to bite the Bucs and later in the inning a passed ball after an intentional walk to load the bases allowed a second run to score to push Blinn's lead to 4-1.
The Bucs had a chance to get right back in the game in the bottom of the 2nd as a Blinn error and a double from Michael McAloose put two runners in scoring position with nobody out, but the Bucs managed just one run on a wild pitch as two strikeouts and a groundout got Blinn out of the jam to keep them in front 4-2 after two.
The scoring continued in the 3rd as Blinn got two runs for the third straight inning to make it 6-2.
FSW answered though as Carlos Sanchez shot an RBI single the other way in the bottom of the 3rd to make it a 6-3 game before a two run double from Nathan Fink got the Bucs back to within one and McAloose picked up his second hit in as many innings to drive him home and tie the score at 6.
Blinn retook the lead with a run in the 4th but Beau Brailey came in out of the Bucs bullpen to strand the bases loaded and keep it a one run game at 7-6 in favor of Blinn.
The Bucs kept banging away with the bats in the bottom of the 4th, using the long ball once again, this one coming off of the bat of Jake Mueller, a two run shot, to put FSW back ahead 8-7. Later in the inning Fink singled to center to bring home another run and a Blinn error allowed the fourth run of the frame to score to give the Bucs an 10-7 advantage.
Brailey worked a quick 1-2-3 top of the 5th for the Bucs and the FSW offense was right back at it in the bottom of the inning, using the help of multiple Blinn wild pitches and a two out RBI single from Sanchez to open it up to a 13-7 Bucs lead.
The back and forth continued in the 6th as Blinn got three runs on four hits to cut the Bucs lead in half to 13-10.
Nicholas Lorenz came in out of the Bucs bullpen and put up back to back zeros in the 7th and 8th, but the Bucs offense couldn't tack on as it remained a 13-10 game to the 9th.
Three outs from their first win in Juco World Series history, victory was snatched out of the Bucs hands in the blink of an eye in the 9th. Three straight singles scored a run to get Blinn to within two and on the next pitch, Blinn catcher Ethan Gonzalez continued his historic start to the World Series with a three run home run to left to put his team back in front 14-13.
The Bucs had hope as they turned their lineup over to the top in the bottom of the 9th,but they would go down in order as Mueller just missed tying it with a shot to center that died on the warning track to bring their season to a close as Blinn hung on to win it 14-13.
The Bucs banged out 15 hits in the defeat. Fink was 3-5 with a double and 3 RBIs in his final game as a Buc while Mueller and Sanchez each had three hits and drove in a pair. FSW pitching struggled once again as starter Abel Albarran failed to get out of the 4th while allowing nine hits and seven runs but got off the hook thanks to the offensive outburst by the Bucs. Nicholas Lorenz suffered the loss, allowing five hits and four runs, all in the 9th to snap a streak of 10 straight appearances and 22 straight innings without allowing a run for FSW.
The Bucs see their historic season come to an end at 44-17 after winning their first Citrus Conference and FCSAA Championships while tying a program record with 44 wins and making their first trip to the Juco World Series. Blinn will continue their attempt to defend their 2024 National Championship tomorrow as they improve to 47-14 on the year.
