FLORENCE, SC – Sophomore right-hander Tyler Witzel pitched six strong innings and drove in one run to help lead Coker College to a 3-1 win over sixth-ranked Francis Marion University, Wednesday evening (April 20) in non-conference baseball action spoiling the final home game of 2011 for the Patriots.

The loss drops Francis Marion to 33-11 and snaps the Patriots' six-game winning streak.  It is only FMU's third loss in its last 20 games and also breaks a four-game winning streak in the series with the Patriots' local rival, a streak that dates back to the end of the 2007 season.

Coker ends its season with a 16-27 mark.

Francis Marion will look to capture its first-ever Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship when the Patriots open a three-game series at Georgia Southwestern State University on Friday at 6 p.m.  FMU needs one win in the series or one loss by Armstrong Atlantic State University in its final six conference games to capture at least a share of the crown.

Witzel (6-4) allowed only one unearned run on five hits in 6.1 innings.  He struck out four and walked three, but was seemingly ahead of most every FMU batter.

The Patriots loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but righty Sean Tracy struck out Patriot designated hitter John Jones to end the game.  It was Tracy's second save of the 2011 campaign.

Jones had earlier given FMU a 1-0 lead with an RBI single to right field in the bottom of the third inning.  Coker answered with a pair of runs off Patriot senior right-hander Joe Wagstaff (4-4) in the top of the fifth.  The two scores came as a result of two walks, an error, and three wild pitches.

The Cobras added an insurance run in their next frame as Witzel's ground out to second base scored Chad Nadar.

Francis Marion junior center field Buddy Sosnoskie tripled with two outs in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, but he was stranded there.  Senior second baseman Brooks Arnette doubled to lead off the eighth inning, but he was also left stranded on base.

Francis Marion left 11 runners on base and 14 of the Patriots' 27 outs were of the fly ball variety.

The senior pitching trio of Wagstaff, Corey Carver, and Tyler Lehman limited Coker to just three hits.