May 27, 2021
Cardiac Kids Do It Again! Bucs Onto National Semis With 2-1 Win Over Butler
Less than 24 hours removed from a thrilling 14-13 come from behind win over Seminole State, the #3 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers played another nailbiter Thursday afternoon against #2 Butler at the NJCAA National Tournament in Yuma, Arizona, hanging on late behind some outstanding defensive plays to down the Grizzlies 2-1 to advance to the Final Four of the tournament.
YUMA, Az.- Less than 24 hours removed from a thrilling 14-13 come from behind win over Seminole State, the #3 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers played another nailbiter Thursday afternoon against #2 Butler at the NJCAA National Tournament in Yuma, Arizona, hanging on late behind some outstanding defensive plays to down the Grizzlies 2-1 to advance to the Final Four of the tournament.
The Bucs defense was ready to go right off the bat on Thursday as catcher Taylor Jensen gunned down a runner at second base for the back end of a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play to end the 1st inning to give FSW a chance to take an early lead on the Grizzlies.
It looked like the Bucs were going to pick up where they left off Wednesday offensively as Rebeca Laudino and Janessa Plummer used their wheels to each pick up singles and put themselves in scoring position with nobody out to start the FSW 1st. A line drive double play doubled off Laudino at third and a strikeout brought the inning to a close with the Bucs missing a golden scoring opportunity to keep the game scoreless after an inning of action.
Bucs starter Alyssa O'Donnell worked quick 1-2-3 2nd and 3rd innings to keep the high powered Grizzly offense off the board, but FSW couldn't get anything out of their bats either as it was all goose eggs on the board as the teams went to the 4th.
Butler got on the board first in the 4th, getting a blooper to shallow left that spun away from the Bucs outfield and then an error on the throw into the infield to allow the Grizzly runner to come around to score and give the visiting team on the scoreboard a 1-0 lead.
The Bucs had a chance to answer in the bottom half of the frame, putting two on with two out, but a strikeout ended the threat and left the two ducks on the pond as Butler held their 1-0 lead into the 5th.
The Grizzlies got a one out runner on via a hit batter and looked to move her into scoring position on an attempted steal, but for the second time in the game Jensen gunned down the attempted thief at second and a pop up to short ended the frame to keep it a 1-0 contest.
FSW finally broke through against the Butler pitching staff in the 5th as Eliska Stejskalova drilled a solo shot to left center with one out in the frame to even the score at 1. One batter later, Laudino grounded a ball to third and the Grizzlies threw the ball away and up the line, allowing Laudino to motor around the bases and eventually score to put FSW in front 2-1.
FSW Head Coach Robert Iamurri made a defensive change to begin the 6th inning, inserting Beth Reid into left field. That move would pay off in a major way. To start the inning Reid dove into foul territory, pulling the first out of the frame off the turf. After an easier play for the New Zealand native for the second out, Reid made the play of the year to save the game and end the inning for the third out. On a 2-2 pitch, Butler's Ari Cordova hammered a ball deep to left field and it looked like the game was just seconds away from being tied at 2. Reid had other ideas, gliding back to the short fence in left before leaping over the wall and snagging the would be home run to send the FSW dugout into a fury. (Check out the play on ESPN by CLICKING HERE)
The Bucs couldn't get any insurance in the 6th, but they didn't need it as Emily Perrin set the Grizzlies down in order in the 7th, including a strikeout to end it in style to seal the 2-1 win for FSW to send them to the Final Four.
A day after winning a 30 hit, 27 run affair, the Bucs did it the other way Thursday, outhitting the Grizzlies 7-2 in the 2-1 contest. Janessa Plummer and Shanika Klett were both 2-3 for the Bucs in the win while Stejskalova had FSW's lone RBI of the game with her 5th inning homer. Perrin earned the win in the circle, going 3 shutout innings to improve to 10-2 on the year. O'Donnell gave FSW four strong frames to start the game, allowing just two hits and one run while striking out five, but didn't factor in the decision.
The Bucs improve to 47-4 on the year and defeat their fifth top 15 ranked opponent in their past six games while snapping Butler's 46 game winning streak to drop the Grizzlies to 51-3 on the year.
FSW advances to the winner's bracket final Friday at 12 where they will take on #11 San Jacinto with a trip to the title game on the line. Butler falls to the elimination bracket where they will take on either Yavapai or Wallace State later Thursday night.
