CLEARWATER, Fla.- Down 5-3 heading into the 9^th inning, the #2 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers scored a pair of runs to level the score against the St. Petersburg Titans Tuesday night. They wouldn't be able to complete the comeback however as a dust up at the end of the 9^th forced the game to be called on the spot with the Bucs and Titans settling for the time being with a 5-5 tie in non-conference action. 

 

FSW got on the board first as former Titan Carlos Sanchez launched a solo home run to left to put the Bucs on top 1-0 early on. 

 

St. Pete answered in the bottom of the 1^st, taking advantage of a leadoff walk to push across a run to level the score at 1 after one. 

 

The Bucs played some small ball to score for the second straight inning in the 2^nd to retake a 2-1 lead, but again the lead wouldn't last long as a pair of doubles, two hit batters, and a bases loaded walk allowed the Titans to score twice in the bottom of the inning to put St. Pete in front 3-2. 

 

It remained a 3-2 game to the 5^th when St. Pete once again took advantage of free passes dished out by Bucs pitching as two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly to right plated a run and made it a 4-2 game. 

 

The Bucs bullpen kept the game right there through the middle innings, but the FSW offense couldn't get anything going as it remained a 4-2 game to the 8^th.

 

The Bucs finally broke through in the 8^th as they took advantage of a two out walk to continue the inning before Nike Pereira ripped a single back up the middle to plate a run and cut the Titan lead to 4-3. 

 

 For the third time in a row, as soon as the Bucs scored, the Titans answered right back, this time with a one out double to right to bring home a run to pad the St. Pete lead back to two at 5-3 as the teams went to the 9^th.

 

With their backs to the wall down to their last three outs in the 9^th the Bucs showed some fight, putting their first two hitters of the inning on before Jake Mueller pulled a single through the left side to plate both and tie the score at 5. 

 

St. Pete put the game winning run on in the bottom of the 9^th but FSW reliever Delvison Reyes dialed up a big strikeout to keep the game tied at 5 and send it to extra innings. 

 

However, before the 10^th could start, a dust up between the two teams saw the St. Pete dugout empty onto the field and after a long pause in the action, the umpires called the game to end it tied at 5. 

 

The Bucs outhit the Titans 10-6 in the game with Evan Androvett notching a pair of knocks in his Buccaneer debut and Mueller finishing 1-2 with a pair of RBIs and three walks on the evening. Reyes and Logan O'Leary combined for three scoreless innings out of the Buccaneer bullpen in the tie. 

 

FSW goes to 15-3-1 with the tie while St. Pete moves to 3-13-1 on the year. 

 

The Bucs are back in action on Thursday at home at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers when they host Hillsborough in a 2 PM first pitch.