February 10, 2022
Brown, Bucs Bats Blast Panthers in Twinbill
Chelsea Brown drove home eight and the #1 Florida SouthWestern State bats remained red hot as the Buccaneers sailed past the South Florida State Panthers 14-0 and 12-1 in a pair of run rule wins Thursday night in Avon Park.
AVON PARK, Fla.- Chelsea Brown drove home eight and the #1 Florida SouthWestern State bats remained red hot as the Buccaneers sailed past the South Florida State Panthers 14-0 and 12-1 in a pair of run rule wins Thursday night in Avon Park.
The Bucs flexed their muscles on their old Suncoast Conference rivals right off the bat as Caroline Figueroa ripped a two run double and Sterre den Duijn blasted a two run home run to give FSW a 5-0 lead before the Panthers got their first at bats in game one.
After quiet 2nd and 3rd innings for both sides, the Bucs were back at it in the 4th as Laura Vigna singled up the middle to drive home a run and Figueroa smacked her second RBI double of the game to make it 7-0.
Belle Sardja remained in complete control in the circle with an unconventional 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 4th thanks in part to catcher Taylor Jensen who gunned down her third runner of the season at second to keep it a 7-0 game.
The Bucs blew the game wide open in the 5th as Beth Reid doubled home a run to make it 8-0 and Jensen doubled home another later in the inning to make it 10-0. They weren't done there as after FSW loaded the bases with two outs, Brown crushed the second pitch she saw deep and out to center for a grand slam to stretch the lead to 14-0.
Samantha Smith came in out of the FSW bullpen to toss the bottom of the 5th and needed just eight pitched to spin a 1-2-3 frame to finish off the 14-0 win for the Bucs.
The Bucs banged out 14 hits in the win with six different players chalking up multi-hit games. Brown finished 2-3 with a homer and five RBIs, Vigna was 3-4 with a pair of runs driven home, and Figueroa went 2-3 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs. Sardja earned her second win of the season in the circle, going four shutout innings, allowing just three hits before giving way to Smith for her scoreless 5th.
Brown was back at it right away in game two, driving home her sixth run of the day with a 1st inning double to get the Bucs on the board. Later in the frame Pallas Potter and Charlotte Drijvers got in the act with back to back RBI singles to push the lead to 3-0.
Vigna legged out an RBI bunt single to get the Bucs going in the 2nd and scored along with Jensen when Brown smacked another run scoring single to make it 6-0. For the second straight inning Drijvers picked up a two out RBI single, stretching the Bucs advantage to 7-0 after two.
FSW scored for the third straight inning in the 3rd and South Florida State scored for the first time on the day in the 4th to make it 8-1 at the end of four complete innings.
Den Duijn started the FSW 5th with a triple and quickly scored on a single up the middle from Shenita Tucker to make it 9-1. The speedster then stole second and third before coming home on an RBI single from Mikayla Velasquez to cushion the lead to 10-1. The Bucs added two more later in the inning to take a 12-1 lead and closed things out in the bottom of the inning to kick the run rule in on the Panthers.
FSW had 17 hits in the victory led by Tucker and Potter who each collected three. Tucker finished the game with five stolen bases, the most in a game for a Buc since Riley Russell's seven in 2018. Brown and Drijvers each had a pair of hits and three RBIs for FSW. Bailey Haggard was the benefactor from the offense, improving to 6-0 on the year in the circle with three scoreless innings against her former squad.
The Bucs stretch their win streak to six with the victories, improving to 12-1 on the year. South Florida State falls to 2-4 in the sweep.
FSW will have a few days to enjoy the wins, not taking the field again until next Wednesday when they return home to City of Palms Park to take on the Titans of Eastern Florida in a 3 PM doubleheader.