FLORENCE, SC — Senior catcher Logan Bland blooped an 0-2 pitch into shallow right field to score Graham Couch from second base with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give fifth-ranked Francis Marion University a 4-3 victory over Georgia Southwestern State University, Friday evening (April 23) in Peach Belt Conference baseball action.

The Patriots (37-10, 15-7) win the opener of the three-game series, while the Hurricanes drop to 25-17 and 11-11.  The 37 victories is the third-highest total in FMU history.  The two squads will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.  Francis Marion will celebrate Senior Day and honor its 17 seniors between games of the twinbill.

Bland was 2-for-4 and plated a pair of runs with a sacrifice fly and the 10th-inning single. Senior second baseman Josh Biggers was 3-for-4 at the plate for FMU, while both Preston Shuey and Chris Honeycutt each had two hits.  In the process, Shuey recorded the other Patriot RBI and extended his hitting streak to nine games.

First baseman Jared Allen was 3-for-5 for Georgia Southwestern, while shortstop Kevin Carroll was 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI and designated hitter Trent Dooley was 2-for-5.

FMU pinch hitter Brooks Arnette walked to lead off the bottom of the 10th frame.  Tyler Capplemann moved him to second with a two-strike sacrifice bunt.  After a strike out, Bland took a called strike and fouled off three straight pitches before serving a soft liner into shallow right field.  Graham, running for Arnette, easily beat the throw home.

Patriot senior righty Brandon Forshee (3-0) earned the win with 2.2 scoreless innings.  He allowed only one hit and struck out two.

Hurricane southpaw Corey Hawes (2-1) pitched the final 2.1 innings and surrendered the winning run.

FMU took a 2-0 advantage in the second on Bland's sacrifice fly and Josh Smith scored on a Hurricane throwing error.  GSW answered with two runs in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly by Bud Long and an RBI single to right-center field by Zack Stanton.

The Patriots retook the lead with a run in the bottom of the third.  Barrett Kleinknecht tripled off the right-center field fence and came home on a single up the middle by Shuey.

The Hurricanes tied the game at 3-3 in the seventh.  Beau Parker was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a wild pitch.  Carroll then delivered a run-scoring single into shallow left field.

Forshee entered the game with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning.  He induced a force out at home and a strikeout to keep the game tied.  FMU nearly won the game in the bottom of the ninth, but GSW center fielder Chris Lingham made a diving catch in deep center of a towering fly ball by Shuey stranding two runners on base.