CLEARWATER, Fla.- The Florida SouthWestern Statea Buccaneers took the field as the #1 team in the country for the first time this season on Saturday and they got their money's worth.  The Bucs played four times at the Clearwater Kick Off, going a perfect 4-0 including getting a walk off three run home run to help FSW beat D2 #5 Louisburg in their third game of the day. 

 

In their 2021 season opener, the Bucs took on the Eagles of Tallahassee.  FSW jumped on the Eagles quickly, scoring four times in the 2nd, getting a solo home run from Shanika Klett to start the inning and three more later in the inning to take a quick 4-0 lead.  

 

Tallahassee scored a run in the top of the 3rd, but the Bucs answered right back with three of their own in the bottom as Feline Poot doubled home a run and Charlotte Drijvers brought her plateward with an RBI single to make it 6-1.  

 

Later on in the game Drijvers homered to make it 8-1 and that is all that freshmen pitchers Brooke Geiger and Sterre den Duijn needed to finish off a win for the Bucs as Geiger went the first four and de Duijn went the final three to seal an 8-1 win.  

 

FSW outhit Tallahassee 13-4 in the contest getting a huge day from the bottom third of their lineup.  Drijvers finished 3-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored while Zoe Riley and Eliska Stejkalova each went 2-3 with an RBI in the win.  Geiger earned her first career victory, going four innings and allowing just two hits and one run while den Duijn earned her first career save with three shutout frames to close things out. 

 

 

In their second game of the day, the Bucs actually played from behind early as Santa Fe scored a pair of 2nd inning runs to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead.  

 

It didn't take long for the Bucs to get even though as Beth Reid doubled home a run and later scored on a wild pitch to even up the score at two a piece. 

 

The Bucs were back at it in the 3rd as a hit batter and a pair of walks helped set the table for FSW and they would cash them in for four runs to take their first lead of the game at 6-2.  

 

An error allowed another FSW run to score in the 4th to make it 7-2 and the Saints would never threaten again as the Bucs finished off a 7-3 win for their second victory of the day.  

 

It wasn't a typical slugfest for the Bucs who had seven hits in the game, led by Reid and Chelsea Brown who each had two, including a double in the win.  Alyssa O'Donnell went the distance in the circle, allowing just four hits and one earned run while striking out 12 to each her first victory of the season.  

 

 

As the morning turned to the afternoon, the Bucs took the field for their third game of the day as they battled D2 #5 Louisburg.  

 

It was a pitching duel from the start as FSW's Emily Perrin squared off against the Hurricanes ace. 

 

The game was a scoreless deadlock all the way to the 7th inning when Louisburg drew a leadoff walk ahead of a two run home run to take a 2-0 lead in the contest.  

 

After recording just three hits in the first six innings of the game, things were looking bleak for the Bucs, down two with just three outs remaining. That's when den Duijn got them going with a leadoff single and Klett put two on with a single of her own to put the tying run on base.  Head Coach Robert Iamurri then pulled the right string, bringing Feline Poot to the dish representing the game winning run.  Poot fouled the first pitch she saw off and then unloaded on an 0-1 pitch to center field, launching it out of the part for a three run, walk off home run to win the game 3-2. 

 

Perrin and Poot were the stars for the Bucs as Perrin went the distance on the rubber, allowing just three hits and two runs while striking out 10 Hurricane hitters. Poot hit the three run shot in her only at bat of the afternoon.  Klett went 2-2 with a run scored off the FSW bench. 

 

 

In their final game of a busy day, the Bucs took on Eastern Florida State. 

 

There was lots of action early in this one as Taylor Jensen smacked a two out, two run double in the top of the 1st to quickly give the Bucs a 2-0 lead. 

 

Eastern responded with three of their own in the bottom half to take a 3-2 lead, but FSW answered with a four spot of their own in the top of the 2nd to retake a 6-3 advantage.  

 

It remained that way to the 4th when the Bucs added two more runs to cushion their lead to 8-3.  

 

A solo home run for the Titans made it an 8-4 game in the 5th, but the Bucs quickly packed back on, getting back to back RBI doubles from Natavia Ellis and Bet Reid to make it 10-4 FSW after four. 

 

Eastern got a run on a solo home run in the 6th, but they couldn't get anything cooking in their last at bats as the Bucs closed them out 10-5 to sweep the weekend with a perfect 4-0 record.  

 

The Bucs pounded out 12 hits in the win including five doubles from five different players. Brown went 2-3 with a run scored while Janessa Plummer was 2-2 with two runs scored in the victory. Perrin earned the win out of the FSW bullpen, spinning four innings and allowing just three hits and two runs while registering 10 of her 12 outs via the strikeout.  

 

 

The Bucs open up the season a perfect 4-0 in Clearwater.  The will be back in action next weekend when they travel to Dothan, Alabama for the VisitDothan.com Invitational.