DAHLONEGA, GA – Junior Cea Knox walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning to force in the winning run as fourth-seeded Francis Marion University rallied to beat 25th-ranked and fifth-seeded Carson-Newman College, Sunday afternoon (May 16) at the NCAA Division II Southeast Dahlonega Regional Softball Tournament at Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium.

The Patriots (37-14) trailed 4-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning but scored twice on a two-run homer by senior left fielder Jessica Birchmeier, and then added the game-winner in the final inning.  Birchmeier accounted for the FMU first two tallies with another two-run shot.

The Patriots will take on top-ranked and top-seeded North Georgia College & State University at 6:35 in the championship round. A win by the North Georgia will give the Saints the regional title and earn them a spot in the NCAA Super Regionals next weekend. If the Patriots win, it will force a second game, which will be played Sunday evening.

The game between FMU and Carson Newman was interrupted three times because of the weather, including one delay that lasted for more than an hour. However, the Patriots found a way to win to stay alive and keep their regional title hopes breathing.

With the score tied at 4-4, senior left-hander Michaela Wolf got the Eagles out in order in the top of the seventh.  The Patriots opened the bottom of the inning with a Kat Beauvais single. Two outs later, Wolf singled and Birchmeier walked to load the bases. Knox worked the count and managed to draw a walk to force home Ashley Jaramillo, who had reached on fielder's choice earlier in the inning.

Carson Newman had a couple of opportunities to take control of the game in the first two innings but could not push a run. The Eagles loaded the bases in the first inning and had runners at second and third in the second, but Wolf managed to work her way out of trouble both times.

Carson Newman grabbed the lead in the fourth inning, thanks to a walk, an error and a sacrifice fly. Ashley Boyd led off the inning with a walk. Amber Hewitt, who pinch ran for Boyd, advanced to second on an error and third on a sacrifice bunt. Ay Lawrence took a 0-2 offering from Wolf and delivered a deep fly ball, scoring Hewitt.

The Patriots answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. After Wolf singled to center, Birchmeier blasted the first of her two homers over the fence just to the right of the 220-foot in straight away center field.

The Eagles reclaimed the lead in the top of the fifth, taking advantage of four errors by the Patriots. The Patriots committed a pair of errors on one play, allowing pinch runner Kim Whaley to score to make it 2-2. Later in the inning, following another error and a hit by Whitney Kee, Jessie Howard drove in a run with a single to left to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead. Kee scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch by Wolf.

Beauvais and Wolf joined Birchmeier with two hits in the game, and Jessica Hogan and Destinea Schneider each added one.

Wolf (22-9) tossed a complete game, allowing two earned runs on nine hits and a pair of walks while striking out six.

Mary Shealy took the loss, dropping to 16-7 on the year. Shealy pitched 6.2 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and five walks, while striking out two.

Howard had two of the Eagles' nine hits and also drove in a run. Cassidy Skeen, Bri Shoemake, Sara Little, Whitney Durham, Leah Price and Kee all had one hit for the Eagles, who finished the year with a 37-12 record.