HARROGATE, TN – Senior left fielder Chelle Phillips drove home the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh inning for a 3-2 win as Francis Marion University completed a sweep of their non-conference softball doubleheader with Lincoln Memorial University on Thursday afternoon (March 17).  Freshman Olivia Zielinski registered her first career three-hit game in the opener as FMU prevailed 7-3.

Francis Marion (19-12-1) broke out a slump that had seen the Patriots score only seven runs in their previous five contests.  FMU was scheduled to play at Queens University of Charlotte on Sunday, but that twinbill has been canceled, so the Patriots will return to action on Wednesday when they host Peach Belt Conference for Augusta State University for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.

In the opener, Francis Marion broke open a scoreless game by scoring five times on six hits in the top of the fourth.  After LMU (17-8) trimmed the margin to 5-3 with three runs in their half of the inning, junior first baseman Megann Sallinger and Zielinski both hit solo homers in the top of the fifth to push the lead to 7-3.

Zielinski was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two driven in.  Freshman shortstop Sara Broderick was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while junior center fielder Destinea Schneider was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Sophomore third baseman Tristan Faile also had two hits in game one as the Patriots tallied 13 safeties.

Junior right-hander Kayla Ellingsen (8-4) was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst. She allowed only seven hits, while striking out a career-high 14 batters, the highest total by a Patriot hurler since Amy Birch fanned 14 at Erskine College on Feb. 22, 2002.

In the second game, the Patriots took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Schneider led off with a triple and scored on a wild pitch.  The advantage grew to 2-0 in the top of the sixth when Phillips doubled and later came around to score on a double by Sallinger.  Sallinger has now hit in her past five games.

Lincoln Memorial knotted the score with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth frame.  FMU escaped further damage in that inning as the Patriots turned a first baseman-to-catcher-to-second baseman covering first double play to end the inning.

In the top of the seventh, catcher Olivia Ferguson led off with a double against LMU starter Katie-Jo Gentry (3-3).  Ferguson moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Lindsey Brown and scored on Phillips' fly out to center field.

FMU senior right-hander Cea Knox (10-7) allowed a one-out single in the last of the seventh, but then struck out the final two batters to secure the win.  Knox allowed only five singles and walked just one batter.

       Olivia Zielinski