Bucs Sweep Seminole on Sophomore Day
Nine was the magic number for the #1 Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers on Saturday as the Bucs swept their Top 25 doubleheader with #19 Seminole State by scores of 9-6 and 9-1 to run their winning streak to 24 games and bump their 2026 record to 49-5 on the year.
FORT MYERS, Fla.- Nine was the magic number for the #1 Florida SouthWestern Buccaneers on Saturday as the Bucs swept their Top 25 doubleheader with #19 Seminole State by scores of 9-6 and 9-1 to run their winning streak to 24 games and bump their 2026 record to 49-5 on the year.
Early on in game one it looked like there was no chance it was going to go the distance as FSW jumped out to a big lead with two in the 1st and six more in the 2nd highlighted by RBI singles from Makayla Jakubuwski and Megan Veilleux to jump out to a quick 8-0 lead on the Raiders.
The Bucs scored for the third straight inning in the bottom of the 3rd as Stephanie Basso singled through the left side to make it 9-0 and it looked like it was going to be a short afternoon for Seminole.
That's when the Raiders began their comeback and helped by a pair of walks to begin the top of the 4th, Seminole cracked the scoreboard with a two spot to cut into the Bucs lead at 9-2.
The Bucs failed to score for the first time in the game in the bottom of the 4th and the Raiders carried their momentum into the 5th, getting another tally to make it 9-3.
Things started to get real for the Bucs in the 6th as back to back one out singles for the Raiders added another run and a two out double off the wall plated two more to make things interesting all of a sudden as Seminole trimmed the FSW lead to 9-6.
The Bucs couldn't add any insurance in the 6th but thankfully for FSW, Alexandra Solo was able to pitch around a one out hit by pitch to leave the tying run in the on deck circle as she closed out a 9-6 win for the Bucs in game one.
FSW outhit Seminole 12-5 in the win, but left eight runners on in the contest. Kaitlyn Klismith went a perfect 3-3 with three runs scored for the Bucs while Noelani Livingstone was 3-4 and Jakubuwski was officially 1-1 with a run scored and two RBIs. Lizzy Kwakernaak went four innings and allowed just one hit to pick up the win in the circle to improve to 9-2 on the year while Solo notched her second save of the year with three innings to finish things out.
#1 FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN/#19 SEMINOLE ST. GAME ONE BOX SCORE
The Raiders didn't wait around in game two, pushing across a run in the top half of the 1st inning to take their first lead of the day at 1-0.
FSW answered right away as Thaima Maximiliana walked to lead off the Bucs half of the frame, stole second, and scored on a two out single from Emma-Rose Payette to tie the game up at a run apiece.
After Zoe Yaguirre put up a zero in the top half of the 2nd for the Bucs, they were able to take their first lead of the game as a pair of two out errors by the Raiders allowed a run to score for FSW and put them in front 2-1 after two.
The Bucs continued to build their picket fence with another lone tally in the bottom of the 3rd as Bente Zwanenburg shot a double off the wall in right with two outs to drive home a run and make it 3-1 FSW.
The Bucs blew the game open in the 4th as Kwakernaak got it going with a bullet double down the left field line and scored along with Maximiliana on a line drive back up the middle from Klismith to make it 5-1. They weren't done yet as later in the inning Payette drove home a run with an infield single and three pitches later Stephanie Basso crushed one up into the jet stream blowing out to right for a three run home run to make it 9-1 Buccaneers.
The six run 4th took the wind out of the sails of the Raiders as FSW reliever Charlotte Graham breezed through the Seminole order in the top of the 5th to close things out and kick in the run rule with the Bucs taking game two 9-1 in five.
The middle of the Bucs order did the bulk of the damage in the win as Basso was 2-2 with a homer and three RBIs while Payette was 2-3 with a run scored and another driven in. Klismith accounted for three runs in the two hole while Maximiliana was officially 0-1 but walked twice, stole two bases, and scored twice in the leadoff spot for FSW. Yzaguirre went 3 2/3 and allowed just one unearned run to earn the victory in the circle for FSW to improve to 17-2 on the year while Graham nailed down her first save of the season with 1 1/3 innings of perfect relief.
#1 FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN/#19 SEMINOLE ST. GAME TWO BOX SCORE
FSW runs their winning streak to 24 with the sweep, improving to 49-5 overall and 35-3 in Citrus Conference play. Seminole falls back to 31-19 overall and 20-18 in league play where they find themselves one game behind Daytona for the final playoff position out of the Citrus Conference with two games left to go.
The Bucs close out the regular season Tuesday at home against #23 Daytona State with a doubleheader beginning at 2 PM. FSW's biggest fans will be their opponents from Saturday as Seminole will need one more win against Central Florida than Daytona gets against the Bucs if they are to compete in this year's FCSAA Championships in Clearwater.
