April 2, 2024
Figueroa's Record Tying Game Leads Bucs Past St. Pete
Victor Figueroa hit a pair of home runs and tied the Florida SouthWestern single game record with nine RBIs to lead the Buccaneers over the St. Petersburg Titans 19-7 in non-conference action Tuesday night in Clearwater.
CLEARWATER, Fla.- Victor Figueroa hit a pair of home runs and tied the Florida SouthWestern single game record with nine RBIs to lead the Buccaneers over the St. Petersburg Titans 19-7 in non-conference action Tuesday night in Clearwater.
The game was never close as Victor Figueroa got the scoring going with an RBI single through the right side just two batters into the game to give FSW a quick 1-0 lead. Two batters later Jared Davis doubled home another run and a single to left from Nik Pereira plated two more to make it 4-0 Buccaneers. They weren't done yet as the Bucs got their fifth run of the inning on a St. Pete error and with two outs in the inning Figueroa crushed the first pitch he saw out of the park the other way for a grand slam to make it 9-0 FSW before the Titans got to hit for the first time.
St. Pete got two back in the bottom of the 1st, but the Bucs answered with three more of their own in the top of the 2nd as Tripp Landers lined an RBI single back up the middle and Justin Thomas lifted a sacrifice fly to center to make it a 12-2 game. '
The Titans got three in the bottom of the 2nd to cut it to a 12-5 game before the Bucs defense averted further damage with a double play on the infield to keep them up seven after a wild first two innings of action.
Nate Earley launched a solo home run in the 3rd and Figueroa drove home another run with a double in the 4th to make it 14-5 Bucs at the end of 3 1/2.
St. Pete made things interesting with a two run home run of their own in the bottom of the 4th to cut the FSW lead to seven at 14-7.
The balls continued to fly out of the park in the FSW half of the 5th as Eric Blair launched a two run shot to make it 16-7 and after a pair of runners reached in front of Figueroa, he touched up his 15th longball of the season, a three run shot to blow the game back open to 19-7.
With the run rule staring them in the face, the Titans couldn't get anything going in the bottom of the 5th as FSW reliever Nate Ward came in and quieted the offensive party, striking out a pair in a 1-2-3 frame to close things out and give the Bucs a 19-7 win in five.
Figueroa finished his monster game 4-5 with a double, two home runs, and a program record tying nine RBIs, following in the footsteps of 2023 Bucs slugger Derek Williams who hit a pair of home runs and drove in nine last season in a win over Wabash Valley. Earley had his seventh straight multi-hit game, going 2-4 with a homer, while Davis was 3-4 with three runs scored and Justin Thomas was 2-3 and scored four times. Josiah Velazquez earned the win on the mound for the Bucs, going 1 2/3 hitless innings to improve to 2-2 on the year.
The Bucs improve to 26-13 overall on the year while St. Pete falls to 14-22.
The Bucs are back in action on the road Thursday when they make the trip North on I-75 to take on Santa Fe in Gainesville in the first of a three game series with the Saints.