Bucs Finish Off Titans in Series Opener
The #9 Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers finished off their suspended game with the St. Petersburg Titans with a 9-6 victory Friday afternoon at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater. After getting out to an early 5-0 lead and seeing the game stopped due to weather, the Bucs made the trip back up the coast to close out the Titans to take back over first place in the Citrus Conference standings.
CLEARWATER, Fla.- The #9 Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers finished off their suspended game with the St. Petersburg Titans with a 9-6 victory Friday afternoon at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater. After getting out to an early 5-0 lead and seeing the game stopped due to weather, the Bucs made the trip back up the coast to close out the Titans to take back over first place in the Citrus Conference standings.
The Bucs couldn't have gotten off to much of a better start as Nick April-Gath and Jonah St. Antoine singled to lead off the ballgame to set the table for Aiden Talarico who slammed a triple off the right field wall to score both and give FSW a 2-0 lead just three batters into the game. After a walk put runners on the corners, Robbie Demetree joined the fun, pulling an RBI single through the left side to make it 3-0 Bucs before their first out of the game.
The Bucs were back at it in the 3rd as Keenan Jabeth and Elijah Coston drove in runs to bump the FSW lead to 5-0.
It was all about Bucs starter Gavin Kindell for the next two innings, as the freshman making his first start for the Purple and Aqua was electric, blanking the Titans through the first four innings while pumping 39 of 45 pitches into the strike zone.
The Bucs were hitting with one out in the top of the 5th when the skies opened and they didn't relent, ultimately forcing the suspension of the contest.
Upon continuing the game Friday, the Bucs quickly added to their advantage as Tyler June and April-Gath banged back to back doubles to set the table for St. Antoine who knocked them both in with a single to right to make it 7-0. The Bucs continued to rally, eventually getting a third run in the 6th to make it 8-0 FSW after 5 ½.
St. Pete answered back with a three spot on their own in the bottom of the inning, getting on the scoreboard and cutting the FSW lead to 8-3 at the end of six.
A hit batter to start the 7th followed by a one out home run put two more on the board for the Titans and just like that St. Pete was right back to within three at 8-5 with two innings to go.
The Bucs added a big insurance run in the top of the 8th as Greg Caban legged out an infield single to drive home a run, but further damage was averted with a double play ball after that to leave it a 9-5 game.
The Bucs shot themselves in the foot in the bottom of the 8th as with two outs and nobody on, a pair of walks and a single loaded the bases before a hit batter forced a run home to make it 9-6. FSW closer Nicholas Lorenz came in for a four out save and shut things down from there, stranding the bases loaded in the 8th and leaving the tying run on deck in the 9th as he recorded the final out of the contest to give the Bucs a 9-6 win.
FSW outhit St. Pete 17-7 in the win, led by St. Antoine who finished 4-5 with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored. Five other Bucs joined him with multi-hit games including Caban who also drove in two. Kindell gets a tough luck no-decision because of the rain, throwing four shutout innings and striking out seven in the win. Judd Hildreth swooped in and picked up the win on the mound, allowing four runs in 2 1/3 to start the day Friday to improve to 5-1 on the year. Lorenz earned the save, his eighth of the year, retiring four of the five hitters he faced.
The two teams will be back at it Saturday in Fort Myers with a doubleheader set to begin at 1:00 PM.