AIKEN, SC -- Freshman third baseman Michael Wilson ignited the Francis Marion University offense with three hits at the top of the line-up and the 17th-ranked Patriots defeated 16th-ranked USC Aiken 8-5 to earn a split of their Sunday (March 6) afternoon Peach Belt Conference baseball doubleheader and in the process a victory in the three-game weekend series win. USCA took Sunday's opening game 10-2.

The victory is the 1000th in FMU's history and comes against arguably it most fervent PBC rival.  The Patriots are now 1000-631-3 all time.  For the 2011 campaign, FMU ups its overall record to 13-6 and its conference mark to 2-1, while USCA is now 13-4 and 1-2. 

Francis Marion will play host to Clarion University for a doubleheader on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

After seeing his season-long hitting streak stopped at 16 games on Saturday, Wilson went 6-for-9 with three runs scored in Sunday's twinbill.

Senior right-hander Phillip Mozingo (3-1) captured the win on Sunday with 5.1 effective innings.  He allowed three earned runs in 5.2 innings, while striking out seven.  Senior righty Patrick Mincey pitched the final 3.1 innings, allowing no runs on three hits, to earn his second save of 2011.

In addition to Wilson's hot bat, Buddy Sosnoskie, John Jones, and Tyler Cappelmann all had two hits in the second game.

FMU took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on RBI singles by Preston Shuey and Jones.  A sacrifice fly by Tyler Boyd extended the lead to 3-0 in the third.

After USCA trimmed the margin to 3-2 in the bottom of the third, the Patriots responded with five unanswered runs over the next two innings.  In the fourth, Brock McCallister drove in one run with a sacrifice fly and Shuey was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.  Three runs followed in the fifth, thanks to a USCA error and a two-run triple by Sosnoskie.  USCA cut the lead to 8-5 in the sixth inning, but Mincey slammed the door to seal the historic win.

In Sunday's first game, USCA scored three times in the opening three frames off FMU starter Joe Wagstaff (3-2) and never trailed. The Patriots scored once in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Cappelmann.  The final Patriot tally came in the seventh, after USCA led 7-1, on an RBI fielder's choice grounder off the bat of Shuey.

Jason Cochcroft (2-0) earned the game-one win, after escaping a first inning that saw him load the bases by hitting three Patriot batters.  Altogether, Pacers pitchers hit seven FMU batters on Sunday.

#16 USC Aiken 10, #17 Francis Marion 2 (Mar 06, 2011 at Aiken, S.C.) (Game 1)
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Francis Marion...... 000 100 100  -  2  7  3      (12-6, 1-1 PBC)
USC Aiken........... 201 013 03X  - 10 14  2      (13-3, 1-1 PBC)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion - Joe Wagstaff; Jeffrey Stoner (3); Matt Broderick (6) and Zac Livingston
; Jeff Gaston. USC Aiken - Jason Cochcroft; Jeremy Smith (7) and Kyle Rice.
Win-Jason Cochcroft (2-0)  Loss-Joe Wagstaff (3-2)  T-2:25  A-115
Weather: Cloudy with a strong wind

#17 Francis Marion 8, #16 USC Aiken 5 (Mar 06, 2011 at Aiken, S.C.) (Game 2)
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Francis Marion...... 201 230 000  -  8 13  1      (13-6, 2-1 PBC)
USC Aiken........... 002 003 000  -  5 12  2      (13-4, 1-2 PBC)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion - Phillip Mozingo; Patrick Mincey(6) and Brian Paulhus. USC Aiken -
Derek Beasley; Jeremy Smith(4); Tyler Bourdo(6) and Josh Miller.
Win-Phillip Mozingo(3-1)  Save-Patrick Mincey(2)  Loss-Derek Beasley(2-2)  T-2:35  A-0
Weather: Cloudy