COLUMBUS, GA.- The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers earned two more wins Saturday in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Georgia, albeit in very different fashions, coming from behind to down Navarro 10-7 in their first tilt before blowing away NJCAA DII #1 Jones County 11-2 in their nightcap to advance to the tournament championship game against DII #2 LSU-Eunice Sunday morning.
Things did not start the way the Bucs were planning in their first game of the day against Navarro. FSW fell behind 3-0 early on as a leadoff home run and a pair of Buccaneer errors allowed the Bulldogs to jump in front in the second.
FSW got a run back in the bottom of the second as Paris Woods blasted a solo shot to right, but Navarro plated two more in the top of the third to take a 5-1 lead on the top ranked Bucs.
Pitcher Sarah Lawton made her only at bat of the season count in the fourth as she doubled with one out to start a four run inning for the Bucs to even things up at 5-5.
After Lawton posted a zero in the top of the fifth in the circle, the Bucs were back at it at the plate in the bottom half of the inning, getting an RBI single from Ali Yawn and an RBI groundout from Rebeca Laudino to give FSW their first lead of the game at 7-5.
The Bucs padded their cushion in the sixth as Woods drove home another run on a groundout and a pair of Navarro errors allowed two more runs to score to give FSW nine unanswered to take a 10-5 lead.
The Bulldogs stayed true to their name and kept fighting to the end, getting a two run home run in the seventh to make it a three run game before bringing the tying run to the plate with one out, but Kelsi Collins saved the day out of the bullpen for the Bucs, striking out both hitters she faced to end the threat and the game, giving FSW a 10-7 come from behind win.
Hits were just about even with 10 for FSW and nine for Navarro and both teams were sloppy on defense with a combined six errors, the Bulldogs' four allowing five unearned runs to score for the Bucs in the three run game. Woods and Laudino drove in two each for the Bucs while Yawn, Owen Bowers, and Haley Ellefson each had two hits for FSW. Lawton earned the win in the circle, improving to 5-0 on the year with 4 1/3 innings pitched out of the bullpen before giving way to Collins who notched her second save to close it out.
The Bucs second game of the day matched them up with a fellow #1 ranked team for the second straight day. After defeating NJCAA DIII #1 Rock Valley on Friday, the Bucs squared off with NJCAA DII #1 Jones County on Saturday night.
The game didn't live up to the billing however as the Bucs jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Bobcats had a chance to hit, getting RBI knocks from Woods and Ellefson in the top of the first to jump out to a big early lead.
An RBI single from Pallas Potter in the third pushed the FSW lead to 5-0 before a leadoff home run and a two out wild pitch allowed Jones to net a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to cut the Bucs lead to 5-2.
FSW got those runs back and more in their next trip to the dish as Natavia Ellis, Potter, and Ellefson came through with RBI singles in the fourth to stretch the Bucs lead back out to 9-2.
The Bucs added two more in the fifth on just one hit to make it an 11-2 game and Collins worked a 1-2-3 inning in the circle to finish the Bobcats off as the run rule kicked in after five.
FSW dominated every phase of the game, outhitting Jones 12-4 while playing clean defense to the Bobcats three errors. A number of Bucs had big games offensively including Laudino who had three hits, three runs scored, and a pair of stolen bases, Potter who was 3 for 3 with a couple of RBI's and Ellefson who drove home four in the win. Collins went the distance in the circle, spinning all five innings, allowing four hits and two runs while fanning nine.
#1 FSW/DII #1 JONES COUNTY BOX SCORE
FSW continues a torrid pace to start 2019 at 30-0 after the two wins. They will wrap up play at the tournament Sunday morning at 9 AM when they take on DII #2 LSU-Eunice in the championship game.