Posted: Mar 19, 2024
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #3 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers got another dominating performance from their pitching staff Tuesday afternoon at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers as Bucs hurlers allowed just six hits in a 10-0, 8-0 doubleheader sweep over the visiting Hillsborough Hawks to improve to 29-3 on the 2024 season.
The Bucs got the scoring going early and often in game one as they loaded the bases in the bottom half of the 1st inning and got a sacrifice fly from Virginia Mambelli to give FSW a quick 1-0 lead.
They added to their lead in the 2nd as Mia Terito launched a two run home run deep and out to left center field to make it a 3-0 game at the end of two.
Bucs starter Lea Chevrier worked her way out of a bases loaded jam in the 3rd to keep the Hawks off the scoreboard and the Bucs blew things open in the bottom half of the inning, taking advantage of three Hillsborough errors to score four times on just two hits to up their lead to 7-0.
The Bucs continued to pour it on in the 4th as Emily Allegood drilled an RBI single through the left side and Maddy Golka hooked a triple down the line to score her to bump the FSW lead to 10-0.
Chevrier closed things out in style in the 5th , stranding a pair of Hawk runners with a strikeout to end the inning and the game as the Bucs took game one 10-0 in five innings thanks to the run rule.
Chevrier improved to 14-0 on the year with the win, scattering four hits and working around four walks for her first complete game shutout of the year. Terito and Golka carrier the offense at the bottom of the order, combining to go 4-6 with five RBIs and a pair of runs scored in the victory.
It was more of the same in game two as the Bucs took advantage of a pair of free passes, a successful double steal, and a Hillsborough error to score their first two runs in the top of the 1st without putting the ball in play to take an early 2-0 lead. Later in the frame a dropped fly ball in the Hillsborough outfield allowed two more unearned runs to score to give FSW a 4-0 lead at the end of one.
Another HCC error in the 2nd allowed the Bucs to extend their lead to 5-0 and it remained that way through three after a 1-2-3 frame from Esmee Ames that included a pair of strikeouts.
The big blow in game two came off the bat of Mambelli who drilled a two run bomb to right in the 4th to cushion the Bucs lead to 7-0.
Leah Meyer finished her second scoreless inning of work in the 5th and gave the Bucs a chance to end it in the bottom of the inning, which they did as Golka doubled home Paige Lassiter who reached on an error to start the inning to plate the Bucs eighth run of the game and kick in the run rule in an 8-0 FSW victory.
Ames improved to 10-3 on the year in the circle with the win, going 3 1/3 and allowing just one hit while striking out five. Meyer went 1 2/3 innings to close it, allowing just one hit of her own. Mambelli finished 2-2 with a homer and two RBIs while Sydney McCray continued her on base tear, reaching three times while going 1-1 officially with three runs scored.
FSW improves to 29-3 overall on the season and 16-2 in Citrus Conference play with the victories while Hillsborough sees their losing streak reach seven as they fall to 6-22 overall and 2-15 in league action.
The Bucs are back in action on the road on Saturday when they make the long trip across the state to Melbourne to take on Eastern Florida State in a doubleheader beginning at 2 PM.