The top-ranked Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers pulled off a thrilling comeback Tuesday in their first game of the 2025 NJCAA World Series, beating #24 Crowder 11-8.
FSW fell behind 7-0 in the fourth inning—its biggest deficit of the season—but stormed back with 11 runs over the final three innings to stay alive in the winner’s bracket.
Crowder jumped out fast, hitting a grand slam in the first inning and scoring five runs before FSW recorded an out. The Bucs were quiet early but finally broke through in the fourth. Faith Wharton hit a three-run home run, and Kmari Williams followed with an inside-the-park homer to start the comeback.
Reliever Lizzy Kwakernaak was key for FSW, pitching 6 2/3 innings and striking out nine to earn the win. The Bucs tied the game in the sixth and took the lead on an RBI single by Emily Allegood. They added insurance runs to make it 11-8.
Wharton and Noelani Livingstone each went 3-for-3 at the plate. Wharton drove in three runs, and Livingstone scored twice. The win was FSW’s 14th in a row, improving their record to 53-5.
The Bucs move on to play #16 Butler in the third round of the winner’s bracket on Wednesday at 1:30 PM MT/3:30 PM ET.