February 28, 2026
Bucs Use Big 9th Inning Comeback to Take Series
The #6 Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers split a pair of one run games against the Santa Fe Saints Saturday in Gainesville, falling 4-3 despite a pair of home runs from Cris Walley in game one of the doubleheader before mounting a huge comeback with five runs in the 9th inning of game two for an 8-7 win to clinch their third straight series win to begin Citrus Conference play.
GAINESVILLE, Fla.- The #6 Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers split a pair of one run games against the Santa Fe Saints Saturday in Gainesville, falling 4-3 despite a pair of home runs from Cris Walley in game one of the doubleheader before mounting a huge comeback with five runs in the 9th inning of game two for an 8-7 win to clinch their third straight series win to begin Citrus Conference play.
The Bucs got on the board first in game one of the twinbill as Cris Walley cranked a solo home run out to right to begin the FSW 2nd to give the Bucs an early 1-0 lead.
Santa Fe answered back in the 3rd using back to back singles to start the inning to set the table before bringing both runners in on groundouts to give the Saints their first lead of the game at 2-1.
Jonah St. Antoine led off the FSW 4th with a double and he quickly scored as Walley blasted his 11th home run of the year to put the Bucs back in front 3-2.
The back and forth continued in the bottom of the inning as the Saints put two on before a clutch two out single brought both runners in and gave Santa Fe a 4-3 lead.
That was the end of the offense though as FSW put runners on in the 5th and 6th but couldn't bring them around and despite the Bucs pitching staff putting up back to back zeroes to give them a chance, FSW couldn't put anything together and fell 4-3 to even the series at a game a piece.
Walley provided the only offense for the Bucs in the loss, finishing 2-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBIs. Anthony Wilkie suffered the loss on the mound, going five innings and allowing seven hits and three runs while striking out six to fall to 4-1 on the year.
Game two followed a similar script early on as FSW was the first to score on an Aiden Talarico two out RBI single in the 2nd to give the Bucs an early 1-0 lead before Santa Fe answered right back with a two out knock of their own to bring home a pair and put them up 2-1 after two.
The Bucs tied the game up as St. Antoine shot an RBI single back up the middle in the 3rd to make it 2-2, but the game didn't stay tied long as Santa Fe got a leadoff home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the inning to go back in front 3-2.
FSW scored for the third straight inning on a sac fly from Nick April-Gath in the 4th to make it a 3-3 game but once again the Bucs pitching staff couldn't hold it there, yielding two more Saints runs in the bottom of the inning to give Santa Fe a 5-3 lead at the end of four complete.
Things settled down from there as after six straight half innings with a run, neither side scratched the scoreboard in the middle innings as the game went to stretch time with Santa Fe still in front 5-3.
The Bucs hurt themselves in the 7th with three walks and a pair of errors to allow Santa Fe to score twice without the benefit of a hit to extend their lead to 7-3.
The Bucs had a chance to get back into the game in the 8th as they loaded the bases with two outs, but a fly out ended the threat and kept it a 7-3 game into the 9th.
The Bucs started a rally in the 9th with a single from St. Antoine and a walk to Walley to put two on with nobody out and after another walk loaded the bases, Talarico continued to swing his red hot bat with a triple to center to score all three runners and put the tying run 90 feet away with the score 7-6. Andy Perez delivered him home with a single the other way to tie the score at 7 and stole second and third on back to back pitches before scoring on a wild pitch to give FSW an 8-7 lead.
FSW brought closer Nicholas Lorenz in with a one run lead in the bottom of the 9th and he slammed the door, working a 1-2-3 frame to close out a stunning 8-7 win to give the Bucs the series victory.
The Bucs banged out 11 hits in the win led by Talarico who finished 2-4 with four RBIs and Perez who was 2-2 with the game tying RBI and the game winning run. Gavin Kindell and Lorenz threw the final three innings of the ballgame for the Bucs without allowing a hit to close things out, Kindell earning his first career win while Lorenz nailed down his fifth save of the year.
FSW wins their third straight series to begin Citrus Conference play, improving to 16-5 overall and 7-2 in league play while Santa Fe moves to 12-10 overall and 2-7 in Citrus action.
FSW returns back home to Buccaneers Park on Tuesday when they host St. Thomas JV in a 3 PM first pitch in Fort Myers.