March 3, 2020
All Smiles For Bucs in Sweep of Kalamazoo
Three days after grinding through a doubleheader split with #2 Central Florida, the #3 Florida SouthWestern State Softball team got a chance to let their hair down a little bit on Tuesday, sweeping past the visiting Kalamazoo Valley Cougars by scores of 5-1 and 16-0 to improve to 19-2 on the year.
FORT MYERS, Fla.- Three days after grinding through a doubleheader split with #2 Central Florida, the #3 Florida SouthWestern State Softball team got a chance to let their hair down a little bit on Tuesday, sweeping past the visiting Kalamazoo Valley Cougars by scores of 5-1 and 16-0 to improve to 19-2 on the year.
It didn't take any time for the Bucs to get going on Tuesday as three batters into the game, Natavia Ellis continued to swing her hot bat with an RBI single to give FSW a quick 1-0 lead. Later in the 1st, Feline Poot drove home a run on a fielder's choice, pushing the Buccaneers lead to 2-0 after one inning of action.
It remained 2-0 to the 4th when the Bucs added onto their lead. Haley Ellefson helped her own cause with a sacrifice fly to left to drive home Lexi Moore from third to make it 3-0 and later in the inning a Cougar error allowed two more FSW runs to score to make it 5-0.
Ellefson would do the rest for FSW in the circle, limiting Kalamazoo to just one hit and one run over the final three innings of action to close out a 5-1 win for the Bucs in the opener.
Ellefson won her 10th game of the year on the mound, going the distance and allowing just three hits and one unearned run while striking out five Cougars in the victory. Six different Buccaneers collected hits in the win including Janessa Plummer who finished 2-3 with a run scored and Rebeca Laudino who was 1-4 with a pair of RBIs.
Once again the Bucs grabbed an early lead in game two and never looked back. Laudino led off the game with one of her three hits in the contest, stole second, and scored on an RBI single from Lindsey Corbin to make it 1-0 FSW right away. Later in the inning Corbin scored on a safety squeeze bunt by Pallas Potter to put the Bucs on top 2-0 after one.
The Bucs packed onto their lead in the 2nd as Laudino drove home a run with a single and Ellis brought home another with an RBI single of her own to make it 4-0. Another sac bunt from Potter brought home the Bucs third run of the inning and a Cougar error gave FSW their fourth of the frame for a 6-0 lead after two.
Sarah Clontz worked a 1-2-3 top half of the 3rd against the Cougar order and the Bucs offense was right back at the plate looking to add on in the bottom half of the frame.
The Bucs 3rd started with a double from Charlotte Drijvers, who scored on Laudino's third hit of the game to make it 7-0. A towering two run home run to left off of Corbin's bat made it 9-0 and an RBI single from Kayla Domon stretched the lead to double digits at 10-0. A bases loaded walk to Owen Bowers pushed the lead to 11-0 after three complete.
The Bucs didn't let up in the 4th as Poot singled home a run to give FSW a dozen and a sac fly from Ellefson made it 13-0 before a three run bomb to left from Jensen blew it open to a 16-0 contest.
That is the way it would end after five with the Bucs taking home a 16-0 run rule victory to sweep the doubleheader.
FSW outhit Kalamazoo 14-2 on the night as they hit a cool .560 as a team in the victory. Laudino was a perfect 3-3 with a pair of RBIs at the top of the Bucs' order while Corbin and Jensen each homered and had 3 RBIs. Clontz improved to 5-0 on the year with three scoreless innings of work while Emily Perrin closed things out with two shutout frames striking out four.
FSW improves to 19-2 on the year with the victories while Kalamazoo falls to 1-7.
The Bucs are back in action at City of Palms Park on Wednesday afternoon when they host Miami Dade in a 4 PM doubleheader.