March 17, 2024
Drijvers Homers Twice To Lead Bucs to Sweep of Saints
Hitting in the leadoff spot for the first time in her FSW career, Florida SouthWestern sophomore Sietske Drijvers might have just forced the hand of Bucs Head Coach Robert Iamurri next time he makes the lineup card out as Drijvers went 3-3 with a pair of home runs and six RBIs out of the leadoff spot to lead the 3rd ranked Buccaneers to a Citrus Conference sweep of the Santa Fe Saints Saturday in Gainesville.
GAINESVILLE, Fla.- Hitting in the leadoff spot for the first time in her FSW career, Florida SouthWestern sophomore Sietske Drijvers might have just forced the hand of Bucs Head Coach Robert Iamurri next time he makes the lineup card out as Drijvers went 3-3 with a pair of home runs and six RBIs out of the leadoff spot to lead the 3rd ranked Buccaneers to a Citrus Conference sweep of the Santa Fe Saints Saturday in Gainesville.
The Bucs didn't have to do much to grab the early lead against the Saints in game one as Santa Fe pitching handed out four walks to force a run home and then a Saint error on a ground ball allowed another run to score to make it 2-0 FSW after half inning of play.
Santa Fe answered right back though, scoring two of their own in the bottom half of the frame to level the score at 2 apiece at the end of an entertaining 1st inning of action.
It looked like the Bucs were right back at it in the 2nd as they loaded the bases with one out, but a pop up to the catcher and a fly out to left ended the threat and kept it a 2-2 game after two.
A leadoff double from D'Yani McKinley in the 4th got the Bucs going and a two run single from Skylar Brennan later in the inning put FSW back in front 4-2. A safety squeeze plated the Bucs third run of the inning to make it 5-2 FSW after four innings of play.
Neither team got anything through in the 5th or 6th but the Bucs tacked on an insurance run in the 7th on a two out RBI single from Nicole Edmiaston to make it 6-2.
Santa Fe got a solo home run in their final at bats, but that was all as the Bucs got a groundball on the infield to finish off a 6-3 win in game one of the twinbill.
The Bucs were actually outhit 9-6 in the game, but took advantage of six walks, a hit batter, and a pair of Santa Fe errors in the win. Brennan finished 2-3 with a pair of RBIs while Sydney McCray reached in all three of her plate appearances and scored twice at the top of the FSW order. Lea Chevrier went the distance in the circle, scattering nine hits while striking out eight to improve to 13-0 on the year.
The Bucs had to play from behind in game two as Santa Fe scored one in the 1st and two more in the 2nd to take an early 3-0 lead on FSW.
Sietske Drijvers drilled a 3-2 pitch out to left to get the scoring started for FSW in the 3rd and two batters later Brennan doubled to right to plate another run and make it a 3-2 game. After a single from Edmiaston, Virginia Mambelli picked a good time for her first career home run, launching a 1-2 pitch to dead center for a three run bomb to put the Bucs in front 5-3. The Bucs weren't done yet though as they reloaded the bases and scored three times on a misplayed fly ball by the Saints to blow it open to an 8-3 game after three.
The Bucs added to their lead in the 5th as Kmari Williams doubled with two outs to keep the inning alive for the Purple and Aqua and flipped the lineup over to Drijvers who smacked her second home run of the day over the center field wall to up the Bucs lead to 10-3.
The Bucs allowed four baserunners in the bottom of the 5th but didn't yield a run thanks to a nifty 5-3 double play from McKinley to Mambelli to keep FSW in front 10-3 to the 6th.
The Bucs couldn't add any insurance in their final two at bats, but they didn't need it as Esmee Ames worked scoreless frames in the 6th and 7th to close things out for FSW as the Bucs finished off the doubleheader sweep with a 10-3 game two victory.
Game two was all about the Bucs new leadoff hitter, at least for a day, Drijvers, who finished a perfect 3-3 with two home runs and six RBIs in the win. Mambelli had a big game of her own, going 2-4 with a homer and three RBIs in the victory. Leah Meyer earned her second career win in the circle, going 2 2/3 innings of one run ball out of the bullpen while Ames earned her second save of the season with three scoreless frames to close things out.
FSW improves to 27-3 overall and 14-2 in Citrus Conference play with the sweep where they find themselves in a three way tie atop the standings with Indian River and Central Florida. Santa Fe falls to 19-10 overall and 10-4 in league play.
After a four game road trip up I-75, the Bucs return home on Tuesday when they host old Suncoast Conference mate Hillsborough for a doubleheader beinning at 2 PM at Buccaneers Park in Fort Myers.