LONGWOOD, Fla.- The Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers exploded for 19 runs in just four offensive innings of work Friday morning in their FCSAA State Tournament opener against Miami Dade.  After falling behind 2-0 in the 1st inning, the Bucs ripped off five in the bottom of the 1st, three more in the 3rd, and plated 11 in the 4th for a 19-5 win to advance to the winner's bracket semifinal on Saturday.

 

Miami Dade took an early lead in the 1st, taking an advantage of a pair of FSW errors to plate two runs and take a 2-0 lead after a half inning of play. 

 

The Bucs responded with their bats as Shanika Klett lifted a sacrifice fly to get them on the board in the bottom of the 1st and Natavia Ellis placed a perfect suicide squeeze bunt down to even the score at 2.  Later in the frame an RBI single through the left side from Feline Poot put FSW in front 3-2 and a Shark error plated another run to make it a 4-2 game.  With two outs, Owen Bowers drove an RBI double to the left center field gap to give the Bucs a 5-2 lead after an action packed 1st inning of play.  

 

Miami Dade got a run back in the 2nd and the Bucs weren't able to answer as they cut the FSW lead to 5-3 after two innings of action.  

 

Bowers ripped her second RBI double of the game in the FSW 3rd to extend the Bucs lead to 6-3 and she scored when Janessa Plummer hit a line drive to the gap for a triple to make it 7-3. Plummer scored later in the frame on a sac fly from Sterre Den Duijn to give the Bucs an 8-3 lead after three. 

 

The Bucs blew the game wide open in the 4th when Poot lifted a high fly ball out to left for a three run home run to make it 11-3 and later in the inning Chelsea Brown ripped a two run single to left to extend the FSW advantage to 14-3.  They weren't done yet as Klett drove in her second run of the game with an RBI single to make it 15-3 and Ellis put the exclamation point on the inning with a grand slam to left to put the Bucs in front 19-3 after four.  

 

Miami Dade got a pair of runs in the 5th, but it was far too little, too late as the Bucs finished off a 19-5 run rule win in five. 

 

The Bucs pounded out 15 hits, including six extra base hits in the win.  Ellis finished a perfect 3-3 at the plate, missing the cycle by just a triple, while driving in five for FSW.  Poor was 2-4 with a homer and four RBIs while Bowers was 2-2 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs.  Rebeca Laudino was 2-2 atop the lineup while stealing a pair of bases to give her 100 in her Buccaneer career. Alyssa O'Donnell went four innings, allowing two hits and one earned run to earn the win in the circle, improving to 19-1 on the year.  

 

FSW wins their 24th straight to improve to 41-3 on the year while Miami Dade falls to 18-20.  

 

The Bucs will now gear up for a marquee matchup in the winner's bracket semifinals when they will take on the winner of the Central Florida/Chipola game Saturday at 4 PM at Soldier's Creek Park in Longwood.