Posted: May 29, 2021
YUMA, Az.- The Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers are bringing the NJCAA National Championship trophy back to Fort Myers! The Bucs scored four runs in the 7th inning to break a 1-1 tie against the Grayson Vikings Saturday afternoon in Yuma, Arizona, going onto win the school's first National Championship with a 5-1 victory to finish the tournament a perfect 5-0.
Offense was at a premium early on in the 2021 NJCAA National Championship Game as neither #3 Florida SouthWestern nor #4 Grayson could get anything going through the first two innings of action as the game flew to the 3rd scoreless.
Both teams had chances in the 3rd as the Bucs put runners on the corners with one out but couldn't score, while the Vikings took advantage of an FSW error with a two out RBI single up the middle to put the first run of the day on the scoreboard and take a 1-0 lead.
After a 1-2-3 top of the 4th for FSW, Grayson looked like they were going to add to their lead in the bottom of the frame, putting two on with no out, but Buccaneer starter Alyssa O'Donnell got three straight flyouts to end the threat and keep it a 1-0 contest.
Both teams had traffic in the 5th but couldn't push anything across and the game swiftly moved onto the 6th with the Vikings clinging to a 1-0 lead.
With one out in the 6th, Taylor Jensen finally got the Bucs on the board, blasting the second pitch she saw sailing over the wall in left center field to tie the game at 1.
O'Donnell kept the momentum in the Bucs dugout, retiring the Grayson lineup in order in the bottom half to keep the game tied up at 1.
Feline Poot was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game to start the FSW 7th and moved to second when Owen Bowers laced a single to left. The two moved up 60 feet on a sacrifice bunt from Beth Reid and that's when FSW Head Coach Robert Iamurri called on his secret weapon off the bench, Chelsea Brown. On cue, Brown delivered yet again in the clutch, grounding a single up the middle to score both Poot and Bowers to give the Bucs their first lead of the game at 3-1. After a pair of singles from FSW speedsters Rebeca Laudino and Janessa Plummer, Natavia Ellis came up big, lining a change up to left to drive home two more and cushion the Bucs lead to 5-1.
O'Donnell did the rest, getting a pair of fly outs to left to start the Grayson 7th before getting a ground ball to Lindsey Corbin at short to finish it off and the celebration was on as the Bucs won it 5-1 to claim their first National Championship in program history.
The Bucs outhit the Vikings 9-5 in the championship tilt. Bowers and Laudino had two hits apiece while Ellis and Brown each drove in a pair. O'Donnell was spectacular in the circle, going the distance and allowing just five hits and one unearned run to finish the season a sparkling 23-1 for the Bucs.
FSW finishes their National Championship season 49-4 while Grayson earned runner-up honors at 49-7.
The Bucs wrap up their season by defeating seven different NJCAA Top 15 ranked teams in their final eight games of the year on the way to the title.
At the conclusion of the tournament seven different Bucs were honored by the NJCAA as Laudino, Bowers, O'Donnell, and Shanika Klett were named to the All-Tournament Team while Jensen was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player in the tournament, Ellis the Most Outstanding Offensive Player, and Plummer the Most Valuable Player.
