February 14, 2026
Bucs Win Battle of Past National Champs
The #2 Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers shutout the DII #3 St. Johns River Vikings 8-0 Saturday afternoon to close out the Paradise Cove Classic in a matchup of two programs who have stood on the pedestal as National Champs in the past three seasons.
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #2 Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers shutout the DII #3 St. Johns River Vikings 8-0 Saturday afternoon to close out the Paradise Cove Classic in a matchup of two programs who have stood on the pedestal as National Champs in the past three seasons.
The Bucs couldn't have scripted a better start against the Vikings as Lizzy Kwakernaak struck out the side in the top of the 1st and her offense rewarded her right away in the bottom of the inning as Bente Zwanenburg drove home a pair with a single and Makayla Jakubuwski knocked home another later in the frame to make it 3-0 FSW after one.
The Bucs continued to pour it on the Vikings in the 2nd as Giorgiana Woods ripped a two run double to make it 5-0 before RBI singles from Senna Grootings and Jakubuwski opened it up to a 7-0 lead for FSW.
Kwakernaak put her third straight zero on the board in the 3rd and the Bucs added a run in the bottom half to make it 8-0.
St. Johns River had their best scoring chance in the 4th as they loaded the bases with one out, but a pair of strikeouts from Woods, on in relief of Kwakernaak, kept the shutout intact with the Bucs leading 8-0.
Charlotte Graham was next up in the circle for the Bucs and she followed Kwakernaak and Woods' leads, putting up a zero in the 5th to put the game in the book with the Bucs winning it 8-0 in a five inning run rule.
The three Bucs pitchers combined to strike out 11 in the three hit shutout. Kwakernaak earned the win, going three innings and striking out seven to improve to 3-1 on the year. Noelani Livingstone and Jakubuwksi led the Bucs offense in the win as Livingstone finished 2-3 with a pair of stolen bases and three runs scored while Jakubuwski was 2-3 with a pair of RBIs.
The Bucs finish the Paradise Cove Classic a perfect 6-0 to improve to 12-2 on the year while St. Johns River falls to 8-10 in 2026.
FSW hits the road Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader at Pasco Hernando before opening Citrus Conference play next weekend at Daytona State.