Posted: Apr 19, 2023
FORT PIERCE, Fla.- The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers had a pair of long streaks come to a screeching halt Wednesday afternoon on the road at #14 Indian River as the Bucs 32 game winning streak and their 67 game conference winning streak both ended as they were swept by the Pioneers 2-1 and 9-4 in a Southern Conference doubleheader to bring the race for the conference title down to the final day next week.
In game one the Bucs had the game's first scoring chance as they put two on with nobody out in the 2nd, but a infield fly, followed by a baserunning snafu squelched the threat and kept the Bucs off the board.
Indian River cracked the scoreboard first in the 3rd , taking advantage of a four pitch leadoff walk and a two out single to push across the game's first run and take a 1-0 lead.
The Bucs answered right back in their next trips to the plate as Carys Platt singled and came around to score on an Indian River error to knot the score up at 1.
FSW starter Belle Sardja kept the Pioneers there through the middle innings and the Bucs had a chance to retake the lead as they once again put two on with nobody out in the 6th, but two straight popups and another runner thrown out on the bases brought the inning to an end and kept the score tied at 1.
It remained a 1-1 game to the 7th when the Bucs defense crumbled as the FSW infield committed three errors, gifting the Pioneers the game winning run as Indian River walked off the Bucs 2-1 to hand FSW their first conference loss in four seasons.
Six different Bucs had hits in the game, but no FSW hitter recorded a multi-hit game. Sardja went the distance in the circle, allowing five hits and two runs, one earned, to fall to 18-2 on the year.
Game two had a completely different script as FSW was on the scoreboard before the chalk on the field had dried as Platt singled with one out and Feline Poot doubled her home to give the Bucs a quick 1-0 lead in the 1st.
The lead didn't last long though as Indian River answered right back with three runs on just one hit in the bottom of the inning to take their first lead of the game at 3-1.
The Pioneers extended their lead with another three run inning in the 3rd to make it a 6-1 game.
The Bucs got back into it in the 4th as Sietske Drijvers lifted a sacrifice fly to plate a run and Ella Moore drove home another tally on a double to right to cut the Pioneer advantage to 6-3.
FSW just couldn't get any closer though, going down in order in the 5th and 6th as the Pioneers continued to lead it 6-3.
Indian River put it in the books in the bottom of the 6th, playing small ball to put traffic on the bases before a two run single and an FSW error cushioned their lead back to 9-3.
The Bucs got a run in their final at bats in the 7th, but it was too little, too late as Indian River finished off the sweep 9-4 to close to within one game of the Bucs in the Southern Conference standings.
The Bucs outhit the Pioneers 9-6 in the contest, but committed a season high six errors. Poot and Moore each went 2-3 with a double and an RBI in the defeat for FSW. Kylee Graham suffered her first career loss in the circle, failing to get an out while allowing two runs to fall to 11-1 on the year.
FSW falls just one win short of tying the program's all-time win streak at 32 games while they drop their first conference game since March of 2019, seeing a 67 game dominant streak come to an end.
The Bucs drop to 43-5 overall and 11-2 in Southern Conference action with the loss while Indian River gets themselves back in the conversation for the league title as they improve to 44-10 overall and 10-3 in conference play.
The Bucs will now be forced to play their makeup games against Miami Dade next week with the Southern Conference Championship on the line. That date has not yet been set, but stay tuned to @FSWBucs on social media and FSWBucs.com for that announcement in the coming days.