FORT PIERCE, Fla.- The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers finished their 2021 regular season schedule with a statement on Thursday afternoon in Fort Pierce, sweeping the #10 Indian River State Pioneers by scores of 4-1 and 10-5 to roll into the FCSAA State Tournament next week on a 23 game winning streak. 

 

The Bucs used some defensive fireworks early in game one to get momentum on their side as catcher Taylor Jensen gunned down back to back runners at second base in the bottom half of the 1st to keep the Pioneers from taking an early lead. 

 

The FSW offense got going in the 3rd as Shanika Klett doubled home a run to get the Bucs on the board and Feline Poot found a hole on the left side of the infield with two outs to score her to give the Purple and Aqua an early 2-0 advantage.  

 

Indian River got on the board for the first time in the bottom of the 3rd with a one out double to cut the Bucs lead in half to 2-1. 

 

The Bucs answered right back with an RBI single from Lindsey Corbin in the top of the 4th to push their lead back to two and a Pioneer error allowed their second run of the inning to score to extend their advantage to 4-1. 

 

A pair of walks in the Indian River 4th brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out, but Alyson Marcum came out of the Bucs bullpen and slammed the door to keep them off the board and keep FSW in front 4-1. 

 

Marcum controlled the game from there.  FSW didn't score again, but Marcum didn't need them to as she breezed through the Indian River order for the final three innings to wrap up a 4-1 win for the Bucs in the opener. 

 

The Bucs outhit the Pioneers 7-2 in the victory with Rebeca Laudino and Lindsey Corbin leading the way atop the lineup with two hits apiece and three of the four FSW runs scored.  Emily Perrin started and went 3+ innings in the circle, allowing just one hit and one run.  Marcum came in out of the Bucs bullpen to earn her sixth win of the season, going four shutout frames, allowing just one hit while striking out three.  

 

 

Indian River came out ready to go in game two, scoring four times in the bottom of the 1st inning, taking advantage of an extra out yielded by the FSW defense to allow the Pioneers to take an early 4-0 lead.  

 

The FSW 2nd started inauspiciously but turned into something big by the end of the frame.  With two outs and a runner on first, the Bucs went crazy.  Loading the bases ahead of an RBI single from Laudino to get them on the board and three pitches later Corbin cleared the bases with a double to the gap to even the score at 4.  They weren't done yet.  Natavia Ellis singled home another run to give the Bucs the lead before Feline Poot lined a pitch up the middle to plate another to make it 6-4.  Indian River had a chance to get out of the inning with a ground ball to third, but an error allowed two more FSW runs to score to give the Bucs an 8-4 lead after two. 

 

Indian River had a chance to get back into the game in the 4th, loading the bases with one out, but a key double play for the Bucs quieted the threat and the Pioneers came out of the inning with just one to make it an 8-5 game. 

 

It remained an 8-5 game into the 7th when Beth Reid gave the Bucs some insurance, launching her first career home run the other way to cushion the FSW lead to 10-5.  

 

As she did in game one, Marcum came out of the Bucs bullpen once again in game two of the twinbill and closed things out, retiring the final three hitters she faced in the 7th to finish out a 10-5 win for FSW to wrap up the sweep. 

 

Eight different Bucs had hits and nine different players scored for FSW in the win.  Reid came off the bench to lead the way, going 2-2 with a home run and two RBIs while Laudino and Ellis each had two hits and an RBI for FSW.  Sarah Clontz improved to 8-0 on the season on the rubber for the Bucs, going 5 1/3, scattering six hits and allowing just one earned run to pick up the win.  Marcum earned her second save of the year with 1 2/3 scoreless, striking out a pair.  

 

 

The Bucs extend their winning streak to 23 games to close the regular season at 40-3 while Indian River falls to 28-9 after the sweep. 

 

FSW will now turn their full attention to the postseason where they begin their run to a National Championship next Friday at the FCSAA State Tournament where they will open their weekend with a matchup with Miami Dade at 10 AM from Longwood.