Posted: Apr 01, 2025
FORT MYERS, Fla.- It was a milestone afternoon for the #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers Tuesday at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers as FSW claimed program victories numbers 499 and 500 while Bucs Head Coach Robert Iamurri joined elite company, earning his 500th career victory in a Bucs sweep over Hillsborough.
It was a quiet first two innings of action in game one in a matchup of the Citrus Conference's best team in FSW and the worst team in Hillsborough.
The Bucs used small ball to break the scoreless tie in the 3rd as a one out walk and a bunt single moments later brought home a run to give FSW a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning a dropped fly ball allowed another run to score and the Hawks second error of the inning plated two more with two out for the Bucs to give FSW a 4-0 lead at the end of three.
A sacrifice fly from pinch hitter Makayla Jakubuwski in the 4th extended the lead to 5-0 and the Bucs made it a 6-0 game in the 5th on a two out single from Megan Veilleux.
A controversial call led to the Bucs shutout big being broken up in the 6th as Hillsborough scored a pair of unearned runs to make a game out of it once again at 6-2.
The Bucs couldn't add any insurance in the bottom of the 6th, but they didn't need it as reliever Marissa Wilkinson worked a 1-2-3 top of the 7th to close things out and seal up a 6-2 game one win for FSW.
Kmari Williams remained red hot at the plate for FSW, going 3-3 with a run scored for her third straight multi-hit game. Leah Meyer earned the win in the circle, throwing four scoreless innings to improve to 12-0 on the year while Wilkinson finished the game with three innings of work without allowing an earned run for her third save of the year.
The Bucs were the beneficiary of some sloppiness by the Hawks to begin game two as FSW loaded the bases on three walks and then scored four times without the benefit of a hit as a pair of Hillsborough errors in the field allowed the Bucs to take a 4-0 lead after one inning of action.
Bucs starter Lizzy Kwakernaak struck out the side in the 2nd and added two more in the 3rd to keep it a 4-0 lead and the FSW offense packed on in the bottom half of the inning.
The Bucs loaded the bases with nobody out in the 3rd and cleared the bases on back to back RBI singles from Faith Wharton and Kmari Williams to make it 7-0 FSW. Later in the inning a sac fly off the bat of Noelani Livingstone made it 8-0 and an RBI groundout from Ashley Bert stretched the lead to 9-0.
The Bucs didn't score again, but it didn't matter as McKenzie Bailey-McDowell came in out of the bullpen and blanked the Hawks for the final two frames as FSW closed out a 9-0 run rule win to sweep the doubleheader.
Kwakernaak and Bailey-McDowell combined for a four hit shutout for FSW with Kwakernaak earning her seventh win of the season, going three scoreless innings and striking out seven. Seven different Bucs had hits in the win including Wharton who knocked in a pair and Emily Allegood who scored twice for FSW.
The game two win for the Bucs was the 500th in program history and the 500th in the esteemed career of Head Coach Robert Iamurri. In 9 ½ seasons as a program, FSW and Iamurri now sit at 500-59, good for an .895 overall winning percentage.
The Bucs extend their win streak to 10 games, improving to 35-1 overall and 21-1 in Citrus Conference play, their second best start to a season in program history. Hillsborough's struggles continue as the Hawks fall to 3-29 overall and 2-20 in league play.
The Bucs now turn their attention to a challenging next seven days of action as they will play six straight games against Top 10 ranked opponents. Thursday the Bucs go on the road to take on #8 Seminole State for two before continuing East to Daytona Beach to take on #10 Daytona State Friday in a 1 PM doubleheader. They return back to Fort Myers on Tuesday to take on #3 and defending NJCAA National Champions Indian River at Buccaneers Park in a doubleheader beginning at 1 PM.
