Posted: Feb 24, 2021
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #2 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers pounded out 26 hits, including four home runs in just nine offensive innings Wednesday night at City of Palms Park in Downtown Fort Myers, hammering the visiting Miami Dade Sharks 9-1 and 13-1 in a pair of run rule victories good for a doubleheader sweep.
It didn't take long for the Bucs to get going in their long awaited 2021 home opener. Rebeca Laudino singled and stole second with one out in the top half of the 1st before scoring on an RBI single from Shanika Klett to give FSW an early 1-0 lead.
The Bucs added to their lead in the 2nd when Janessa Plummer followed Laudino's lead, singling, stealing second, and scoring on an RBI single from Feline Poot to give FSW a 2-0 lead. Later in the inning Poot swiped second and scored herself on a single to center from Sterre Den Duijn to put the Bucs up 3-0 after two innings of action.
Emily Perrin worked a quick 1-2-3 top of the 3rd in the circle for the Bucs and kept the Sharks off the board again in the 4th before Poot crushed her fifth home run of the year over the wall in center to put FSW in front 5-0 after four.
An FSW error in the 5th allowed Miami Dade to score their lone tally of the game, but the Bucs got that back and then some in the bottom of the inning when Owen Bowers lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right and then Lindsey Corbin touched up an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall to blow the game open to 8-1 in favor of FSW.
The Bucs ended things early in the 6th when Klett hit a deep shot out to right, giving FSW a 9-1 lead and kicking in the run rule to give the Bucs a game one win.
FSW outhit Miami Dade 12-3 in the victory. Klett and Poot both finished with two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored while Taylor Jensen and Laudino both had two hits as well for the Purple and Aqua. Perrin improved to 5-1 on the year with the victory in the circle, going the distance and allowing just three hits and one unearned run while striking out eight Shark hitters.
Game two started inauspiciously as both the Bucs and Sharks went down in order in the 1st and Miami Dade did the same in the 2nd to keep the game scoreless through an inning and half.
The Bucs didn't go down in order in the 2nd. The Bucs first three hitters of the 2nd reached base before a single from Zoe Riley got FSW on the board and gave them a 1-0 lead. Corbin then hit a bullet to right center field, clearing the bases and getting her to third on a three run triple to make it 4-0 Buccaneers. An RBI single from Laudino made it 5-0 and another RBI knock from Beth Reid stretched the lead to 6-0 for FSW. The Bucs kept on hacking. An RBI single back up the middle from Charlotte Drijvers made it 7-0 and a wild pitch scored another run for FSW to make it 8-0. Still with just one out in the inning, Bowers hit a towering fly ball into the night for a three run home run, giving the Bucs an 11-0 lead, still with just one out in the frame. The Bucs got one more in the inning, giving them 12 in the frame and a commanding 12-0 lead in the contest.
A Miami Dade error allowed the Bucs to stretch their lead to 13-0 in the 3rd.
The Sharks got their lone run of the game in the 5th, but it was far too little, too late as the Bucs ended the game with the run rule in the 5th, winning it 13-1.
FSW banged out 14 hits in the win, getting the majority of the damage from the bottom of their lineup. Their 6-9 hitters each had two hits and combined for eight hits, eight RBIs and six runs scored. Bowers finished 2-2 with a homer and 3 RBIs while Corbin was 2-3 with a triple and 3 RBIs of her own. FCSAA Pitcher of the Week Alyssa O'Donnell was the beneficiary of the offense, earning the win in the circle by going three hitless innings to improve to 6-0 on the year.
FSW improves to 13-1 with the sweep while Miami Dade falls to 6-13 on the year.
The Bucs are back in action in a much anticipated matchup on Friday when they travel to Ocala in a battle between the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the country when they take on Central Florida in a doubleheader beginning at 2 PM.
On another schedule note, the Bucs originally scheduled games against Santa Fe and Eastern Florida in Gainesville on Saturday have been canceled and they will now play Eastern Florida in a doubleheader in Melbourne beginning at 1 PM.
