February 28, 2026
Pitching Dominates in Sweep of Central Florida
Three Buccaneer pitchers silenced the bats of the Central Florida Patriots Saturday afternoon in Ocala as #5 Florida SouthWestern swept their Citrus Conference rivals 4-3 and 5-0 to improve to 19-3 on the year.
OCALA, Fla.- Three Buccaneer pitchers silenced the bats of the Central Florida Patriots Saturday afternoon in Ocala as #5 Florida SouthWestern swept their Citrus Conference rivals 4-3 and 5-0 to improve to 19-3 on the year.
The Bucs got off to a quick start in game one as Lizzy Kwakernaak came through with a two out, two run single in the top of the 1st to give FSW an early 2-0 lead.
FSW extended their lead to 3-0 in the 2nd, executing a first and third double steal with two outs to manufacture a run and go ahead by three.
Central Florida got on the board for the first time in the 3rd as they got a one out double to drive home a run before taking advantage of an FSW error to get back to within one at 3-2.
The Bucs bats couldn't get anything else going though, thankfully for them, starting pitcher Zoe Yzaguirre kept the Patriots quiet as the game went to the 6th with the score still 3-2 in favor of FSW.
The Bucs went to the bullpen in the 6th and a leadoff walk came back to bite them as with two outs, a passed ball allowed the freebie to score and tie the score at 3 at the end of six complete.
Both teams went down in order in the 7th and the game moved to extra innings deadlocked at 3.
The Bucs took advantage of a pair of walks in the 8th to load the bases with one out, but an infield fly temporarily slowed their attempt to push the go ahead run home. Enter Mikan Nishiya who found a hole on the left side of the Patriot infield for a single to bring a run home and put FSW in front 4-3.
Central Florida got a one out double to put the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the 8th, but Giorgiana Woods got a big strikeout and then a groundout to end the threat and the game with FSW hanging on to win 4-3.
Kaitlyn Klismith was 2-4 at the top of the FSW order while Woods scored a pair of runs and Kwakernaak drove two home in the win. Woods also earned the win in the circle, going three innings, allowing just one hit and one unearned run to improve to 3-0 on the year.
For the second straight game, the Bucs jumped ahead early in game two, this time on the bat of Stephanie Basso who launched a three run home run in the top of the 2nd to give FSW a 3-0 lead.
Bucs starter Lizzy Kwakernaak cruised through the middle of the Patriots lineup in the bottom of the 2nd on just six pitches and FSW was right back at it with the bats in the top of the 3rd as Senna Grootings smacked an RBI double to left to make it 4-0 Bucs after three.
Grootings and Basso were back in the middle of an FSW rally in the 5th as Grootings doubled with two outs in the innings and scored on a double from Basso to stretch the Bucs lead to 5-0.
Kwakernaak continued to cruise through five, striking out two more Patriots in a 1-2-3 bottom of the 5th to keep it a 5-0 game into the 6th.
The Bucs didn't score again, but it didn't matter as Kwakernaak finished what she started, firing two more zeroes in the 6th and 7th , securing a complete game shutout victory as FSW completed the sweep with a 5-0 game two win.
Kwakernaak stole the show in the circle, going the distance and allowing just one hit while tying a career high with 10 strikeouts to improve to 4-2 on the year. Basso and Grootings led the offense as Basso finished 2-3 with a homer and four RBIs while Grootings was a perfect 3-3 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored.
The Bucs improve to 19-3 on the year with the sweep while bumping their Citrus Conference record to 5-1. Central Florida falls to 10-8 overall and sees their conference mark fall back to .500 at 2-2.
FSW returns home on Tuesday to host St. Petersburg in a 1 PM doubleheader at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers.