OCALA, Fla.- One day after suffering their first regular season doubleheader sweep in over 2,000 days, the #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers took their frustrations out on the unsuspecting Central Florida Patriots Tuesday afternoon in Ocala as the Bucs held the Patriots to just five hits in a 6-1 game one victory before putting it on their in-state rivals 17-2 in game two behind grand slams from Taylor Jensen and Caroline Figueroa. 

 

The Bucs got the scoring going in game one in the 2^nd innings of action as Taylor Jensen singled with one out and Beth Reid was hit by a pitch before Sterre den Duijn drove them both home with a double to left to put FSW on top early 2-0.  

 

The Bucs added to their lead in the 3^rd as Feline Poot cranked a solo shot out to center to make it a 3-0 game.  

 

FSW starter Baylee Haggard held the potent Patriot lineup at bay early on, keeping Central Florida off the board through five with the Bucs continuing to lead it 3-0. 

 

The Patriots finally broke through against Haggard in the 6th, but the right hander limited it to one run to keep FSW in front 3-1. 

 

Reid was hit by another pitch to leadoff the FSW 7^th and Laura Vigna laid down a bunt and reached to put two on with one out in the inning. That's when 2021 NJCAA National Coach of the Year Robert Iamurri played the right card as usual as he pinch hit Caroline Figueroa who blasted a three run home run to center to cushion the Bucs lead to 6-1.  

 

Haggard did the rest, blanking the Patriots in the 7^th to close out a 6-1 victory for the Bucs in game one. 

 

The Bucs outhit the Patriots 10-5 in the win, getting a 2-2 effort off the bench from Shenita Tucker and two hits at the top of the lineup from Vigna.  Figueroa and den Duijn powered the offense, combining to drive in five of the Bucs six runs in the win. Haggard was outstanding in the circle, going the distance and allowing just five hits and one run to improve to 13-1 on the season.  

 

 

Game two was never close as the Bucs immediately took control in the top of the 1^st as the first three hitters of the game reached base, but weren't out there for long as Figueroa drilled a line drive deep and out to center for a grand slam to put FSW on top 4-0 before their first out of the game.  

 

Central Florida had a chance to get back in it in the 2nd, loading the bases themselves with two outs, but a ground out ended the threat and kept the Bucs in front 4-0. 

 

The Bucs went off in the 3^rd as Vigna ripped a two run double to center with the bases loaded to make it 6-0 and Tucker and Poot followed that up with RBI singles of their own to up the lead to 9-0. After reloading the bases two batters later, Jensen teed off on a deep drive to right that found its way out of the park for the Bucs second grand slam of the game to blow it open to a 13-0 game. 

 

The Patriots got their lone runs of the game in the bottom of the 3^rd with a two run home run but the Bucs answered right back in the 4^th with a pair of tallies on an RBI single from Camille Graham to push the lead to 15-2. 

 

FSW added two more for good measure in the 5^th as Carys Platt walked to lead off the inning and came around to score moments later when den Duijn popped the Bucs third homer of the game out to left to make it a 17-2 game.  

 

That's the way it ended as Belle Sardja closed out the Pats in the bottom of the 5^th to kick in the run rule as the Bucs took game two 17-2 to complete the sweep. 

 

The Bucs banged out 13 hits in the win including seven for extra bases.  Figueroa and Jensen combined for eight RBIs in the win with their grand slams while Poot was 2-3 with a double and a pair of RBIs and Tucker was a perfect 4-4 with three runs scored. Samantha Smith was the beneficiary of the offensive explosion in the circle for the Bucs as she picked up her third win of the year going three inning and allowing two hits and two runs before giving way to Sardja for a pair of scoreless frames to close things out. 

 

 

The Bucs get back on track, improving to 25-4 on the season with the sweep while Central Florida falls to 25-11. 

 

FSW will now turn their attention to conference play where they begin their Suncoast Conference slate Saturday at home at City of Palms Park when they host a Suncoast Conference Jamboree beginning at 10 AM when they take on State College of Florida.