Posted: Feb 17, 2022
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers remained red hot Wednesday afternoon at home at City of Palms Park in Downtown Fort Myers, hammering the visiting Eastern Florida State Titans 15-3 and 8-0 in a pair of run rule wins to improve to 14-1 on the season.
In game one it was all FSW, all the time.
The Bucs jumped all over the Titans early on, plating five runs in the bottom of the 1st inning, highlighted by an RBI single from Sterre den Duijn to give FSW an early 5-0 lead.
Eastern answered back with a pair of two out runs in the 2nd, but the Bucs brought their bats out again in the bottom of the frame, scoring six times on six hits, including a two run single from Pallas Potter to open up an 11-2 lead after two.
FSW started Baylee Haggard worked a quick 1-2-3 top of the 3rd and the Bucs offense was back at it again in the bottom of the inning as Mikayla Velasquez drove home a run on a fielder's choice and Beth Reid cleared the bases with a two out double to stretch the FSW advantage to 15-2 at the end of three.
The Titans got a run in the 4th, but it was too little, too late as Samantha Smith came in to close out Eastern in the 5th to button up a 15-3 run rule win for FSW.
10 different players combined for 13 hits for the Bucs in the win led by Shenita Tucker who was 2-3 with four stolen bases and a pair of runs scored and Caroline Figueroa who was 2-3 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored herself. Haggard earned the win in the circle, improving to 7-0 on the year, allowing five hits and two earned runs in four innings of work before giving way to Smith who worked a 1-2-3 5th to close it out.
It was more of the same for FSW early on in game two as a well executed double steal from den Duijn and Laura Vigna got the Bucs on the board right away and an RBI single from Chelsea Brown extended the lead to 2-0 before she scored later in the inning on a wild pitch to make it 3-0 FSW right off the bat.
Bucs hurler Belle Sardja was sharp in the 3rd, working a quick 1-2-3 frame and her offense piled onto the lead in the bottom of the inning as the Bucs took advantage of a pair of Eastern errors and coupled it with two hits to score four times and up their lead to 7-0.
Sardja blanked the Titans again in the 4th and reliever Kylee Graham put up a goose egg in the 5th to allow the Bucs to walk it off in the bottom of the inning when McKenzie Wittenberg drove home Camille Graham with an RBI single to kick in the run rule as FSW took game two 8-0 in five.
FSW needed just six hits in a swift game two win, taking advantage of five free passes and a pair of errors in the victory. Vigna was 2-2 with three stolen bases and a pair of runs scored at the top of the lineup while Wittenberg was 2-3 with two RBIs in the middle of the order. Sardja was solid in the circle, allowing just two hits in four shutout frames to improve to 3-1 on the year.
FSW has now won eight straight and four straight via run rule to improve to 14-1 on the year while Eastern Florida drops to 2-6 in 2022.
The Bucs will look to stay hot this weekend when they travel to Sanford to take part in the Courtney Miller Invitational where they will play four games in two days beginning on Saturday when they open play with a battle against the Vikings of St. Johns River.
