Posted: Feb 14, 2025
FORT MYERS, Fla.- The #7 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers spent their 2025 Valentine's Day at the Softball diamond on Friday. The Bucs won the bookends of their tripleheader in blowout fashion, defeating Spoon River 9-0 and Chipola 7-1, while orchestrating a huge comeback for a 7-6 walk off win over #8 Southern Idaho in the middle game to remain unbeaten at 14-0 on the year.
The Bucs first game of the day was a rematch of Thursday's matchup with the Spoon River Snappers.
FSW wasted little time in flexing their muscles as they scored six runs in the 1st inning before recording their first out of the game. Virginia Mambelli got the scoring started with a two run single to the gap and back to back wild pitches scored runs and pushed the Bucs lead to 4-0. Three batters later Lizzy Kwakernaak split the gap with a double to plate two more and make it a 6-0 game. Kwakernaak later scored on the Snappers third wild pitch of the inning to give FSW a commanding 7-0 lead at the end of one action filled inning of play.
After emptying their bench, the Bucs added another run in the 2nd on a single to right from Brooklyn Scott and after a scoreless 3rd, FSW put another run on the board as Giorgiana Woods rifled a double to left center to drive home and run and make it 9-0.
That is the way it would end as Kwakernaak worked her third straight scoreless inning in the circle, striking out a pair in a 1-2-3 frame to close things out and give the Bucs a 9-0 run rule victory.
Kwakernaak and McKenzie Bailey-McDowell combined for a two hit shutout in the win as Bailey-McDowell went two innings and struck out three to start the game before Kwakernaak came in and threw three innings, striking out six to earn her first career victory.
Seven different players recorded hits for the Bucs in the win with Kwakernaak and Mambelli each driving in a pair in the contest.
The Bucs wouldn't have long to celebrate the victory as game two of their tripleheader was up next in a Top 10 matchup with #8 Southern Idaho.
Things didn't go exactly as planed for the Bucs early on in game two as the Golden Eagles came out swinging, putting a pair of runs on the board before the Bucs recorded their first out to take a quick 2-0 lead.
The Bucs got a run back in the bottom of the 1st as Karolina Dvorakova doubled with one out and scored on a sacrifice fly from Skylar Brennan to cut the CSI lead in half to 2-1.
After two quick outs in the top of the 2nd, six straight Golden Eagles reached base, scoring four times to open their lead to 6-1.
Marissa Wilkinson came in out of the FSW bullpen and settled things down from there, working out of a jam in the 2nd and then mowing through a 1-2-3 top of the 3rd to keep it a 6-1 game.
Wilkinson continued to roll, striking out a pair in another 1-2-3 frame in the 4th and the Bucs offense finally came around in the bottom of the inning as Kwakernaak laid down a bunt and beat it out to bring home a run and cut the CSI lead to 6-2.
The Bucs continued to chip away as Megan Veilleux tripled to leadoff the FSW 5th and scored on a sac fly from Dvorakova to make it a 6-3 game.
Wilkinson put up her fourth straight zero in the top of the 6th and the Bucs got back to within one with a pair of runs in the bottom half to send the game to the 7th with CSI clinging to a 6-5 lead.
Wilkinson kept the game right there after another 1-2-3 inning in the 7th to take the game to stretch time with the Golden Eagles up 6-5.
Trailing late in a game for the first time all season, the Bucs came out swinging in the bottom of the 7th as Brennan legged out a leadoff double to begin the inning and motored around to score as Nicole Edmiaston found a hole on the left side with a single to tie the game at 6. A sac bunt from Kwakernaak moved Edmiaston to third with two outs and she beat the throw from the catcher home after a wild pitch to send the Bucs dugout into an eruption as FSW walked off the Golden Eagles 7-6.
Wilkinson was the story, retiring 16 of the 19 hitters she faced after entering with the Bucs down 6-1, going 5 1/3 scoreless innings striking out six to earn her first collegiate win.
The Bucs offense banged out 13 hits led by Edmiaston who finished 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored and Brennan and Kwakernaak who each had two hits and also drove one in and scored a run.
In their final contest of a busy weekend, the Bucs squared off against long time Region VIII rival Chipola.
Feeding off of their momentum from their walk off win, the Bucs jumped out to an early lead against the Indians as Zoe Yzaguirre struck out the side in the top of the 1st and her offense pushed across a pair of runs to give her a lead as the Bucs scored their first run on a bases loaded double play ball and after a hit batter, Noelani Livingstone tucked an RBI double inside the left field line to make it 2-0 FSW after one.
Yzaguirre worked a 1-2-3 top of the 2nd with a pair of strikeouts and the Bucs tacked on a run in the bottom half of the frame as K'Mari Williams used her wheels to manufacture a run, singling to left and stealing second before moving to third on a wild pitch and scoring when Veilleux brought her home on a groundout to make it 3-0 FSW.
The Bucs scored for the third straight inning in the bottom of the 3rd as Brennan legged out an infield single to begin the frame and scored when Edmiaston bounced an infield single to short to pad the lead to 4-0.
The Bucs blew the game open in the 4th as Dvorakova executed a safety squeeze to make it 5-0 before back to back wild pitches allowed Brennan to trot home and a sac fly from Edmiaston later in the inning opened up a 7-0 lead for FSW.
Chipola finally broke through against Yzaguirre in the 6th with a two out single to break up the shutout, but Yzaguirre dialed up her 11th strikeout of the game to avert further damage and keep the Bucs on top 7-1 after 5 1/2.
The Bucs couldn't add any insurance in the bottom of the 6th, but they wouldn't need it as Yzaguirre finished what she started, working around a lead off hit batter to put up a zero and close out a 7-1 win for FSW.
Yzaguirre went the distance in the circle for the Bucs, allowing just five hits and one run while striking out 13, making her the first FSW pitcher since Emily Perrin in 2021 to record back to back 10+ strikeout games.
For the second time Friday, seven different players had hits for the Bucs in the win with Veilleux, Brennan, and Williams each scoring twice for the Purple and Aqua.
The Bucs remain unbeaten on the season at 14-0 with the tripleheader sweep, continuing their second best start to a year in program history.
FSW will be back in action in a place they hope to return later in the season on Thursday when they travel to Oxford, Alabama, home of the NJCAA World Series, to take part in the NJCAA Early Season Preview Tournament. Thursday the Bucs have a World Series rematch with Wallace State before taking on Snow from Utah. Friday they will square off with #2 McLennan in a rematch of the 2022 National Championship Game before wrapping up the trip against Blinn.
