CLEARWATER, Fla.- The #2 Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers closed out the regular season on a high note on Tuesday as Lizzy Kwakernaak and Giorgiana Woods combined for a no-hitter in the circle as the Bucs finished off a sweep of the St. Petersburg Titans to ride a 10 game winning streak into the FCSAA Championships next week in Clearwater. 

 

The Bucs struck early in game one as Noelani Livingstone singled on the first pitch of the game and Skylar Brennan quickly doubled her home to give FSW a quick 1-0 lead. Two batters later an RBI single from FCSAA Player of the Week Nicole Edmiaston doubled the lead to 2-0 and Lizzy Kwakernaak and Megan Veilleux drove home runs of their own to open up a 4-0 lead for the Bucs after just a half inning of play. 

 

FSW continued to pound St. Pete pitching in the 2^nd as Kmari Williams doubled to start the inning and quickly came in to score on a triple to the wall from Livingstone to make it 5-0 Bucs. 

 

The Titans loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 2^nd but managed just one run on a wild pitch as FSW continued to lead it big, 5-1 after two complete innings of action. 

 

Things settled down for both sides from there as the Bucs and Titans went scoreless through the middle innings to send the game to the 5^th with the score still 5-1 FSW. 

 

The Bucs added some insurance in the 5^th , getting two more runs on St. Pete defensive miscues to up their lead to 7-1. 

 

The Titans threatened to make it a game in the 5th, loading the bases with one out and pushing a run home on a hit batter, but a line drive double play ended the threat and kept the Bucs in front 7-2. 

 

Livingstone continued her big game with a two run single in the 6^th to open the lead to 9-2 and the Titans would get a run in the bottom of the inning, but wouldn't threaten again as the Bucs went on to win it 9-3. 

 

The Bucs only outhit the Titans 9-8 in the win.  Livingstone was the game one hero, going a perfect 4-4 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored. McKenzie Bailey-McDowell earned the win in relief, going four innings and allowing five hits and one earned run to improve to 7-1 on the year. 

 

 

After a rough start in the 1^st on the defensive end, the Bucs took another early lead in game two as Kwakernaak doubled to begin the FSW 2^nd and scored after back to back sacrifices to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead after two. 

 

After picking up the early double at the plate, Kwakernaak went to work in the circle in the 3rd, pitching around a two out error in the 3^rd with a big strikeout to strand a pair and keep the Bucs in front 1-0. 

 

The Bucs blew the game open in the 4^th as Bailey-McDowell tripled to begin the inning and quickly scored on a St. Pete error to make it 2-0. Later in the inning an RBI single from Virginia Mambelli doubled the lead to 4-0 and an RBI double from Edmiaston behind that put the Bucs in front 5-0. 

 

Kwakernaak worked a quick 1-2-3 bottom of the 4^th with a pair of strikeouts to get the Bucs right back up at the plate and her offense rewarded her with two more runs in the 5^th  to open the lead to 7-0. 

 

Three straight one out RBI knocks in the 6^th by Edmiaston, Katey McGee, and Ashley Bert made it 10-0 FSW with the run rule now in play with three outs left to go for the Bucs on the defensive end. 

 

Kwakernaak exited after five innings of no-hit ball and handed it over to Giorgiana Woods who worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the 6^th on just 13 pitches to close out a no-hitter for FSW in a 10-0 win to finish the regular season. 

 

Kwakernaak and Woods combined on the Bucs first no-hitter of the season. Kwakernaak earned the win, going five innings and striking out six to move to 13-2 on the year. 

 

The Bucs banged out 15 hits on the offensive end with 10 different players collecting at least one hit. Edmiaston led the way, going 3-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs while Kwakernaak and Bailey-McDowell both went 2-3 with two runs scored. 

 

 

FSW closes out the regular season on a 10 game winning streak and with a 49-5 overall record. The Bucs finish their second season of Citrus Conference play with a 35-5 mark, three games better than the rest of the pack. St. Petersburg finishes 16-44 overall and ends a forgettable 10 weeks of Citrus Conference play just 4-36. 

 

The Bucs now turn their attention to the postseason where they will begin their run at the FCSAA Championships on May 7^th in Clearwater. The tournament bracket and seeding will come out later this week.  Stay tuned to FSWBucs.com for more information.