Posted: Jan 31, 2025
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #4 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers jumped on the visiting Chattahoochee Valley Pirates early on and never relented Friday night under the lights at FGCU's Swanson Stadium, hammering out 15 hits including six for extra bases in a decisive 13-4 win to open the three game weekend series between the two.
It didn't take long for the Bucs to get going as Luke Orfi doubled on the second pitch he saw in the bottom of the 1st and came around to score on a Chattahoochee Valley error to give FSW a quick 1-0 advantage. Later in the inning Jake Mueller smoked a double to the right center field gap to make it a 2-0 game and a bases loaded walk followed by a two run single from Ty Hamilton cushioned the FSW lead to 5-0 at the end of one.
The Bucs gave one back on an error in the top of the 2nd to make it a 5-1 game, but FSW starter Abel Albarran worked a quick 1-2-3 inning in the 3rd to keep the Bucs comfortably in front at the end of 2 ½ innings of play.
Anthony Ruocco narrowly missed a leadoff home run to start the FSW 3rd , settling instead for a triple off the top of the wall and after a one out walk to Ty Hamilton, Orfi launched a moonshot into the night and into the palm trees in left to pad the Bucs lead to 8-1. Three straight singles including a two run single from Jonah St. Antoine gave FSW their second five spot of the game and a 10-1 lead at the end of three complete.
The Bucs went to the bullpen in the 5th and the Pirates took advantage, using two hits, a walk, and an FSW error to cut the Bucs lead to 11-3 midway through.
FSW got another run in the 6th on an RBI groundout from Orfi and Chatt Valley answered with a run of their own in the top of the 7th to make it a 12-4 game at stretch time.
Back to back one out doubles from St. Antoine and Mueller in the bottom of the 7th added to the Bucs lead and after a walk and a hit batter to load the bases, Mueller trotted to third as the game winning run just 90 feet away from home with one out in the inning. The Bucs couldn't end it early as a pop up on the infield and a ground ball to first base ended the threat with three ducks left on the pond to allow the game to go to the 8th with FSW leading it 13-4.
The Bucs had two more chances to end it in the 8th as they put two on with one out for the middle of their lineup, but back to back fly outs ended the inning with the game winning run in scoring position for the second straight inning to send the game the distance.
In for his second inning of work out of the FSW bullpen, Robert Mitchell struck out the side around a two out single in the top of the 9th to close things out, getting a swing and a miss for their final out of the ballgame to seal up the 13-4 win for the Bucs.
The Bucs banged out 15 hits in the win led by Mueller who was 4-6 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs and Orfi who finished 2-4 with a homer and five RBIs out of the leadoff spot. Ruocco was 3-4 with three runs scored and both Brock Knoerr and St. Antoine also chalked up multi-hit games for FSW.
Bucs pitching struck out 11 Pirate hitters and walked just two in the win as Albarran went four strong innings allowing just one unearned run to earn his first win of the year while Ryan Grzesiak threw three solid frames with four punchouts and Mitchell finished things with a pair of scoreless innings to close things out.
FSW wins their third straight to improve to 3-1 on the year while Chatt Valley falls in their season opener to begin the 2025 campaign 0-1.
The same two teams will be back at it again tomorrow at 2 PM as the series shifts over to Buccaneers Park on the campus of FSW.
