May 2, 2025
Bucs Battered In Regional Opener
A pair of big innings did the #7 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers in on Friday in their 2025 Fort Myers Regional opener against the Pensacola State Pirates as the upstart Pirates scored four in the 1st and five in the 6th to lead the way to a 12-6 win to put the Bucs in two must win situations Saturday and Sunday if their season is to continue.
FORT MYERS, Fla.- A pair of big innings did the #7 Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers in on Friday in their 2025 Fort Myers Regional opener against the Pensacola State Pirates as the upstart Pirates scored four in the 1st and five in the 6th to lead the way to a 12-6 win to put the Bucs in two must win situations Saturday and Sunday if their season is to continue.
Things couldn't have gotten off to much of a worse start for the Bucs as Pensacola strung together five hits and took advantage of an FSW walk to score four times in the top of the 1st to take an early 4-0 lead on the Bucs.
The Bucs answered in the 2nd as Michael McAloose got them on the board with an RBI single to left and two pitches later Devin Parks lifted one high and out to left for a two run home run to make it a one run game in the blink of an eye at 4-3.
Bucs starter Robert Mitchell struck out the side for the second straight inning in the 3rd and it looked like the Bucs would at worst draw even in the bottom half of the frame, but they left two more runners stranded in scoring position at inning's end as Pensacola continued to lead it 4-3 at the end of three complete.
The Bucs took advantage of some shaky defense by the Pirates in the 4th , scoring the equalizer on a Pensacola error and then getting an RBI single from Carlos Sanchez after another miscue to extend the inning to go in front 5-4 after four.
The Bucs didn't hold the lead long as Pensacola got to the FSW bullpen in the 6th and took advantage. The Pirates once again ripped off five hits, including three straight RBI singles to score five times and retake the lead at 9-5.
FSW didn't get the response they needed from the top of their order in the 6th, going down in order without a ball leaving the infield as the momentum remained on the side of the Pirates into the 7th.
Pensacola got a solo home run in the 7th to add to their lead and then popped a two run home run after a leadoff walk in the 8th to extend it to a 12-5 game.
The Bucs squeezed across a run in the 8th to make it 12-6, but went down quietly in the 9th to wrap things up as Pensacola came to Buccaneers Park and shocked FSW in the series opener 12-6 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Pensacola outhit FSW 13-9 in the contest and Bucs pitching issues 10 free passes in the defeat. Anthony Ruocco and Luke Orfi had two hits a piece and each scored a run in the loss for FSW. Josiah Velazquez took a rare loss on the mound for the Bucs, allowing five hits and five runs in 1 1/3 innings of work to drop to 2-2 on the year.
FSW falls to 39-14 on the year while Pensacola continues it's late season hot streak as they improve to 27-19.
There was no home field advantage around the state on Friday as all four road teams won their games in the opening games of the regional round which puts the top four seeds in the FCSAA Championships, including FSW on the ropes heading into Saturday. The Bucs will not need to win both Saturday or Sunday to extend their season while Pensacola needs to win just one of the two to punch their ticket to the Final Four.