Posted: Feb 11, 2025
FORT MYERS, Fla.- After seven straight games on the road to start the 2025 season, the #7 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers graced their home field at Buccaneers Park for the first time on Tuesday, blowing out New College of Florida 14-4 and 9-1 in a pair of run rule victories to remain perfect on the season at 9-0.
New College of Florida put traffic on right away in the top of the 1st in game one, loading the bases with one two outs before a groundout got the Bucs out of the jam and kept the game scoreless early on.
The Bucs loaded the bases as well in their half of the frame, getting a pair of bunt singles and a Banyan error to put three on with nobody out in the 1st. Unlike NCF, the Bucs cashed in as Virginia Mambelli scalded a line drive to the gap for a bases clearing double to put FSW up 3-0 after one.
After a scoreless 2nd, NCF made some noise in the 3rd, getting a leadoff walk to get things going followed by an RBI triple and a groundout to get back to within one at 3-2. An FSW error allowed another Mighty Banyan rally to get going and a pair of unearned runs later NCF had a 4-3 lead after 2 1/2.
The Bucs answered right away as Skylar Brennan doubled to lead off the FSW 3rd and Megan Veilleux singled through the right side to bring her home to tie the game at 4. Later in the inning a passed ball, dropped third strike allowed a run to score to tie the game and a pair of Banyan errors allowed three more FSW runs to score to give the Bucs an 8-4 lead after an exciting first three innings of action.
Veilleux picked up her second RBI single in as many innings in the FSW 4th to extend the lead to 10-4 and an NCF error allowed two more to cross and make it 12-4. Noelani Livingstone pulled an RBI single through the right side to keep the Bucs train going and Giorgiana Woods doubled down the left field line to bring her in and put the Bucs up 10 after four.
That was all she wrote for the Mighty Banyans as McKenzie Bailey-McDowell put up a goose egg in the top of the 5th to kick in the run rule as the Bucs took game one 14-4.
The Bucs banged out 13 hits in the win led by Livingstone who went a perfect 3-3 at the top of the order and Veilleux and Mambelli combined for six RBIs for FSW. Bailey-McDowell went the distance in the circle to earn the win and improve to 3-0 on the year, allowing five hits and four runs, two earned, while striking out six.
Game two started similar to game one as FSW jumped all over the Mighty Banyans early on, scoring six runs in the bottom of the 1st to go up 6-0 after one. Brennan and Mambelli banged back to back RBI knocks before K'Mari Williams drove home two with a single and two more runs came home on an NCF error to get the Bucs out to the big early lead.
The Mighty Banyans got their lone run of the game in the 2nd when they started the inning with a bunt single and a walk before a one out single up the middle brought home a run and made it a 6-1 game.
The Bucs got the run back in the 3rd when Brooklyn Scott tripled down the right field line for her first career hit to push the lead back to six at 7-1.
FSW added another tally in the 5th on an RBI single from Karolina Dvorakova and ended the game early in the 6th as Brianice Silguero lifted a sacrifice fly to left to bring home Makayla Jakubuwski from third to kick in the run rule with the Bucs taking game two 9-1.
10 different players had hits in the game for the Bucs while eight different players scored their nine runs. Leah Meyer earned the win in the circle, going three innings and allowing three hits and one run to improve to 3-0 on the year while Marissa Wilkinson earned her first career save with three shutout frames with three strikeouts to close things out.
FSW stays unbeaten at 9-0 on the year with the sweep while New College of Florida falls to 4-6.
The Bucs are back in action on Thursday as they kick off play at the Paradise Cove Classic in Fort Myers when they host Spoon River in an early start at 10:30 AM followed by a Top 10 matchup against #8 Southern Idaho at 3:00 PM.
