GAFFNEY, S.C.- Home runs by Barrett Kleinknecht, Keon Graves, and Jacob Wallace accounted for five runs and helped 15th-ranked Francis Marion University beat Limestone College 12-5 on Wednesday afternoon (March 18) at Bob Prevatte Field.

FMU improves to 18-8-1, while Limestone, coached by former Patriot outfielder and recent FMU Hall of Fame inductee Chico Lombardo, falls to 14-12.

Francis Marion started the scoring in the first inning on a two-run homer by Kleinknecht. Wallace followed with a solo homer for a 3-0 lead. Preston Shuey added a run-scoring single before the end of the frame for a 4-0 advantage.

Limestone trimmed the Patriots' lead in the bottom of the first with a pair of runs: Tim Welsh bunted with the bases loaded to score lead-off hitter Greg Dailey, and Joe Maloney walked as Aldo Mendez scored.

The Saints' narrowed FMU's advantage to one in the second when Drew Lydon hit a two-out single to score Dailey from third base. Lydon tied the game at 4-4 in the fourth inning with another two-out RBI single as Mendez scored from second base.

The Patriots took the 6-4 lead in the fifth. The bases were loaded when Tyler Boyd reached on a Limestone error, with two runs scoring. In the sixth, Jared Barkdoll had a run-scoring single with two outs on the board. Graves followed up with a home run that resulted in a 9-4 Patriot advantage.

A single by Wallace put the Patriots up by six (10-4) in the eighth inning. FMU scored two more runs in the frame on a passed ball and an RBI single from Taylor Norfleet.

The Saints tallied another run in the ninth frame as Dailey scored on a single by Lydon.

Dailey and Lydon each hit 4-for-5 on the day, with Dailey scoring three runs and Lydon posting three RBIs. Dailey also had three stolen bases, while Maloney stole twice. Mendez was 1-for-5 with two runs scored. He also saw time as a pitcher in the final inning, as he recorded two strikeouts.

Fifteen pitchers saw action in today's game, with eight of those being from Francis Marion. Eric Sommerville (3-1) got the win after working the fourth frame. Tyler Lehman tossed two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

The Saints' Michael McAbee got off to a rocky start in the first inning as the Patriots scored four runs, but recovered to only allow one hit in the remaining three innings he pitched. Kyle Matheney entered the game in the fifth, and was credited with the loss after giving up the go-ahead run.

The Patriots were led by Wallace who batted 4-5 with two RBIs and four runs scored. Graves was 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, while Barkdoll was 2-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored.

The Patriots host Columbus State for a three-game series on March 21-22 in Florence, S.C.

Francis Marion Univ. 12, Limestone College 5 (Mar 18, 2009 at Gaffney, SC)

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Francis Marion Univ. 400 023 030  - 12 15  2      (18-8-1)

Limestone College... 210 100 001  -  5 11  2      (14-12)

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Pitchers: Francis Marion Univ. - Meiners; Walters(2); Deering(3); Sommerville(4); Gebhards(5);

Forshee(5); Lehman(7); Biggers(9). Limestone College - McAbee, Michael; Matheney, Kyle(5);

Howell, Clint(5); Hardin, George(7); Rawls, Talon(8); McKenzie, Ryan(8); Mendez, Aldo(9);

Crisp, Matt(10).

Win-Sommerville(3-1)  Loss-Matheney, Kyle(1-2)  T-  A-0

HR FMU - Kleinknecht; Wallace; Graves.