SANFORD, Fla.- The top ranked Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers bounced back from their first loss of the season with a pair of wins on Sunday in Sanford, coming from behind late to beat #19 Pensacola 5-2 followed by a much less stressful win, hammering Gulf Coast State 11-1 in five to improve to 11-1 on the year.  

 

The Bucs struck first in their top 20 battle with Pensacola as Chelsea Brown ripped a double to left in the 2nd to drive home Shanika Klett who was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning, to give FSW an early 1-0 lead.  

 

FSW shot themselves in the foot in the 5th to allow the Pirates to get back into the game, committing a pair of errors to allow a pair of unearned runs in to give Pensacola a 2-1 lead.  

 

It remained a 2-1 game in favor of the Pirates into the 6th when the Bucs offense woke up. Taylor Jensen singled to get the inning going and on a 1-2 pitch Brown cracked her second home run in as many days, this one putting the Bucs back in front 3-2.  They weren't done yet as later in the inning Charlotte Drijvers doubled to bring home two more, extending the FSW lead to 5-2 as the teams went to the 7th. 

 

Alyssa O'Donnell did the rest, working a 1-2-3 7th in the circle for FSW, locking down a 5-2 victory for the Bucs.  

 

O'Donnell went the distance to earn her fifth victory of the season. She allowed just three hits while both runs scored against her were unearned.  Brown finished 2-3 with a double, a home run, and three RBIs for the Bucs while Drijvers was 2-3 with a double and two runs driven home.  

 

 

There wasn't nearly as much drama for the Bucs in game two of their split doubleheader against Gulf Coast State. 

 

FSW jumped ahead right off the bat, getting an RBI single from Sterre Den Duijn in the top of the 1st to give them an early 1-0 lead.  

 

They added to their lead in the second as Beth Reid doubled to start the inning and later on scored along with Janessa Plummer on a Gulf Coast error to give the Bucs a 3-0 lead.  With two outs in the frame, Jensen crushed a deep fly ball to center for a two run shot, giving FSW a 6-0 lead after an inning and a half of action.  

 

Emily Perrin held the Commodores off the scoreboard through three and allowed FSW to blow the game open in the top of the 4th.  

 

Jensen continued her big game with an RBI double on a bullet to center to make it 7-0 and she scored on an RBI single from Drijvers to make it 8-0. With the bases loaded later in the inning, Natavia Ellis cleared the pillows with a double to left, blowing the game open to 11-0 Bucs midway through the contest.  

 

Gulf Coast got a solo home run in the bottom of the 4th to make it 11-1, but that was all the Commodores would get in this one as the Bucs closed things out in the 5th for an 11-1 run rule victory. 

 

FSW banged out 12 hits in the win with 10 different players getting in on the offensive action.  Poot was 3-3 with a pair of stolen bases and two runs scored while Jensen was 2-2 with a double, a homer, and three RBIs for FSW.  Perrin went four innings, allowing just one hit and one run while striking out five to improve to 5-1 on the year. 

 

 

The victories propel FSW to 11-1 overall on the year.  

 

The Bucs will finally play at home for the first time in 2021 on Wednesday when they host Miami Dade in a doubleheader beginning at 4 PM at City of Palms Park.