Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 AMERICUS, GA – Sophomore catcher Olivia Ferguson
drilled an extra-inning two-run double and senior right-hander Cea Knox turned in
a pair of strong pitching performances to lead Francis Marion
University to a doubleheader sweep of Georgia Southwestern State
University, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 19) in Peach Belt Conference
softball action.
Knox (5-0) pitched five shutout innings in relief as the
Patriots won the opener 8-1. Ferguson's hit keyed a four-run
uprising in the ninth frame of game two as FMU prevailed 6-3.
FMU improves to 8-1 overall and 2-0 in PBC. The Patriots
will complete their weekend road trip with a conference twinbill at
Columbus State University on Sunday at noon.
In the first game, the Patriots trailed 1-0 entering the fourth
inning. Francis Marion scored five times, highlighted by a
two-run single from freshman shortstop Sara Broderick
and a pair of bases-loaded walks. FMU also scored three times
in the sixth, including an RBI single from Broderick and a two-run
triple from senior third baseman Jessica Hogan.
In addition to Broderick and Hogan, junior center fielder Destinea
Schneider also had two hits in the opener.
In game Georgia Southwestern (4-8, 0-4) scratched out a run in
the bottom of the seventh to tie the contest at 2-2 and force extra
innings.
In the ninth, Hogan drove in one run with a fielder's choice
grounder, Ferguson plated two runs with her double, and freshman
infielder Lindsey Brown
drove home the final tally with a single to left field.
An infield error helped lead to a single Georgia Southwestern
run in the bottom of the ninth. Sophomore left-hander Murphy
McConnell relieved Knox and got the final two outs to earn her
second save of 2011.
Knox allowed only five hits and two earned runs in 8.1 innings
in game two.
Schneider, second baseman Ashley
Jaramillo, and freshman designated player Taylor Luff all had
two hits for Francis Marion in the second contest. Jaramillo
drove in the first two FMU runs with a sacrifice bunt (third
inning) and a sacrifice fly (fifth inning).
Schneider is batting .600 (9-for-15) in the last four games.
Francis Marion 8, Georgia Southwestern 1 (Feb 19, 2011 at
Americus, Ga.) (Game 1)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Francis Marion......
000 503 0 - 8 9 0
(7-1, 1-0 PBC)
Georgia Southwestern 010 000 0 - 1 6
0 (4-7, 0-3 PBC)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Francis Marion - Kayla Ellingsen;
Cea Knox (3) and Olivia Ferguson.
Georgia Southwestern - Martin; Mueller (4); Burns (6) and
Chewning.
Win-Cea Knox(4-0) Loss-Martin (3-2)
T-2:00 A-97
Francis Marion 6, Georgia Southwestern 3 (Feb 19, 2011 at
Americus, Ga.) (Game 2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Francis Marion......
001 010 004 - 6 11 1
(8-1, 2-0 PBC)
Georgia Southwestern 000 100 101 - 3
6 2 (4-8, 0-4 PBC)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Francis Marion - Cea Knox; Murphy McConnell (9)
and Olivia Ferguson.
Georgia Southwestern - Shankle; Milstid (9) and
Buck.
Win-Cea Knox (5-0) Save-Murphy McConnell (2)
Loss-Shankle(0-3) T-2:15 A-0
Weather: mid 70s, sunny
Shankle faced 2 batters in the 9th
