January 23, 2021
Bucs Open Season With a Bang
If opening day of the 2021 Florida SouthWestern State Baseball season is any indication, Bucs fans are in for a treat this season when they see the Purple and Aqua suit up. Friday night at Terry Park in Downtown Fort Myers, the Bucs first rallied for an 11-6 win over ASA MIami, while in the nightcap of their split doubleheader, they knocked off #4 Northwest Florida to improve to 2-0.
FORT MYERS, Fla.- If opening day of the 2021 Florida SouthWestern State Baseball season is any indication, Bucs fans are in for a treat this season when they see the Purple and Aqua suit up. Friday night at Terry Park in Downtown Fort Myers, the Bucs first rallied for an 11-6 win over ASA MIami, while in the nightcap of their split doubleheader, they knocked off #4 Northwest Florida to improve to 2-0.
It was the longball early on in their first game of the day that got things going as ASA Miami whacked a three run shot in the first and FSW answered in the bottom of the inning with a two run bomb from Carter Cunningham to make it 3-2 Silver Storm after one.
Kendry Noriega picked up a big two out RBI single for the Bucs in the 3rd to tie the score at 3 and an inning later, a two run home run from Kalvin Alexander and an RBI single from Cunningham made it a 6-4 lead for the Purple and Aqua.
The Bucs added some insurance later on as Alexander drove two more home with a double and later scored on a passed ball to make it 11-6 FSW.
That is how it would end as the FSW bullpen threw seven innings of brilliant relief to wrap up an 11-6 win in the opener.
The Bucs finished with 11 runs on 9 hits while taking advantage of 12 ASA walks on the mound.
Alexander had a monster game, going 4-4 with 2 doubles, a home run and 4 RBIs. Cunningham finished 2-4 with a homer and 3 driven in. Riley Skeen earned the win out of the FSW Bullpen. He and Brendan Koester each went 3 innings without allowing an earned run while striking out 8.
The Bucs second contest of the night was a highly anticipated one as they squared off one of the top contenders in the country in #4 Northwest Florida State.
With dozens of Major League Baseball scouts in attendance, FSW righthander Carlos Rodriguez fired four innings of scoreless baseball, striking out 9 while opening eyes with a fastball that touched as high as 95 on the radar guns.
His offense helped him out in the fourth as Abi Ortiz singled up the middle and Warnner Rincones was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 2-0 Bucs after four.
Rodriguez handed the ball to the bullpen and Robert Wiegelnik who tossed a scoreless frame to keep the score right there. In the bottom of the 5th, Yadiel Santana and Christian Lucio earned their first FSW RBIs to push the lead to 4-0 for the Purple and Aqua.
Northwest finally cracked the board in the 6th with a lone tally, but the Bucs answered right back with an RBI double from Cunningham to make it 5-1 FSW.
Thats how it ended as Antonio Knowles came out of the FSW bullpen to work a scoreless 7th with a pair of strikeouts to close out a 5-1 win for the home team.
The story for the Bucs was on the mound where Rodriguez dazzles, throwing 4 scoreless, allowing just 2 hits without a run and punching out 9 to earn his first FSW win. Cunningham had his second multi-hit game of the day, going 2-4 with a double and an RBI while the Bucs other six hits were shared between six other players.
FSW starts the season a perfect 2-0 and will take on their second straight ranked opponent on Saturday when they shift things back over to City of Palms Park for a 1 PM first pitch against #18 Central Florida.