April 12, 2025
Brennan & Mambelli Homer Twice For Bucs in Split With Saints
The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers split their fourth straight Citrus Conference doubleheader on Saturday, using a pair of homers from Skylar Brennan and a one hit shutout from Leah Meyer in the circle for a 5-0 win over #21 Santa Fe in game one, but they couldn't hold a late 4-0 lead in game two as the Saints scored five unanswered to walk the Bucs off 5-4 to salvage the split.
GAINESVILLE, Fla.- The #1 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers split their fourth straight Citrus Conference doubleheader on Saturday, using a pair of homers from Skylar Brennan and a one hit shutout from Leah Meyer in the circle for a 5-0 win over #21 Santa Fe in game one, but they couldn't hold a late 4-0 lead in game two as the Saints scored five unanswered to walk the Bucs off 5-4 to salvage the split.
The Bucs jumped on the board right away in game one as two batters into the game Skylar Brennan launched a solo home run to right to put FSW in front 1-0.
Brennan did it again in the 3rd , crushing a 1-0 pitch out to dead center to make it 2-0 and three pitches later Virginia Mambelli followed suit with a shot to right to make it 3-0 Bucs after three.
FSW starter Leah Meyer struck out a pair in her third straight 1-2-3 inning in the 4th and the Bucs added onto their lead in the 5th as Mambelli smacked an RBI single back up the middle to make it a 4-0 game.
Brennan and Mambelli were in the middle of the action again in the 7th as they led off the inning with back to back hits before Emily Allegood drove Brennan in with a bunt single to tack on an insurance run and make it 5-0 FSW.
The insurance was not needed as Meyer was dialed in, blowing through the Saints lineup in order in the bottom of the 7th to close out a 5-0 shutout victory for FSW.
Brennan and Mambelli were the bulk of the offense for the Bucs as Brennan finished 3-4 with two home runs and three runs scored and Mambelli was a perfect 3-3 with a homer and two RBIs. Meyer did the rest, throwing a one hit shutout, striking out seven and not walking a batter to improve to 14-1 on the year.
After two scoreless innings to start game two, the Bucs bats sprung to life in the 3rd , once again with Brennan and Mambelli at the forefront. Brennan singled back up the middle to drive home a run and break the deadlock and right behind her was Mambelli to launched a three run home run out to dead center to quickly put FSW in front 4-0.
It looked like another repeat of game one for the Bucs as they cruised through the 4th remaining in front 4-0.
That's where things turned. A pair of walks and an error on the Bucs loaded the bases for Santa Fe without the benefit of a hit in the 5th and two pitches later a fly ball to center blew out of the yard for a grand slam to tie the score up at 4 in the blink of an eye.
The Bucs looked primed to retake the lead in the 6th as Haley Turner and Karolina Dvorakova worked walks to begin the inning and moved to second and third on a sac bunt with one out. With the go ahead run just 60 feet away, back to back strikeouts ended the Bucs threat and the inning with the score still tied at 4.
It remained a 4-4 game into the 7th and it would remain that way to stretch time as the Bucs were unable to get anything going in the top half of the frame. The game looked destined for extra innings as FSW retired the first two hitters of the Santa Fe 7th , but the Saints mounted a two out rally with back to back singled before a third base knock plated a run and walked off the Bucs 5-4.
The Bucs managed just four hits in the loss with Brennan and Mambelli doing all the damage with their four RBIs in the 3rd. McKenzie Bailey-McDowell suffered the loss in the circle, allowing four hits and one run in 2 2/3 innings pitched to fall to 4-1 on the year.
The split is the fourth straight for FSW as the Bucs move to 39-5 overall and 25-5 in Citrus Conference play where they fall back into a tie atop the league standings with rival Indian River. Santa Fe goes to 27-19 overall and 17-14 in league play to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Thing don't get any easier for the Bucs their next time out as they play their fifth straight doubleheader against a Top 25 ranked team on Tuesday when they take on #8 Miami Dade on the road in Miami with first pitch of game one scheduled for 4 PM.