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FLORENCE, SC – Senior second baseman Ashley Jaramillo drilled a one-out, walk-off grand slam home run in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one and sophomore right-hander Taylor Luff captured her first two career wins as Francis Marion University rallied from behind twice to sweep a Peach Belt Conference softball doubleheader from USC Aiken, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 25). 

Jaramillo's blast over the left field fence gave Francis Marion a 5-2 win in the opener and Jazz Holliday's RBI-triple and subsequent dash home gave FMU a 4-2 win in the second contest.

FMU (11-5, 2-0) travels to Milledgeville, Ga., to face Georgia College in a PBC twinbill on Sunday (Feb. 26) at noon.  USCA suffers its first two losses of the season to drop to 6-2 and 0-2.

In the opener, USCA took a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh when Brandy Bossle doubled in Brittney Williamson.  Pacer right-hander India Kornegay got the first out in the bottom of the seventh on one pitch, but then allowed a single to Sara Broderick and hit both Destinea Schneider and Tristan Faile to load the bases.  Jaramillo then launched her fourth homer of the season on the first pitch she saw from Kornegay to give FMU a 5-2 victory.

Jaramillo and Broderick both had two hits in the opener, while Luff got the final two outs in the top of the seventh, in relief of starter Kayla Ellingsen, to earn the win.  Jaramillo now has 17 career home runs.

Holliday's solo homer in the second frame had staked FMU to a 1-0 lead, but USCA even the score on a sacrifice fly by Hillary Stewart in the fourth.

In the second game, the Pacers scored single runs off Luff in the first and third innings to go up 2-0. Kayla Denham plated both runs with a sacrifice fly and a single up the middle.  Francis Marion responded with two runs in the bottom of the third on run-scoring singles by Schneider and Faile.

With the score still tied at 2-2 in the last of the fifth, Faile beat out and infield single to lead off the frame.  Holliday then laced a 0-1 pitch from Kornegay into the right field corner for a triple.  Faile came around to score and Holliday continued home when the relay throw was wild to home plate.

Schneider was 3-for-4 in the game two, while both Faile and Holliday had two hits apiece.

Luff (2-2) allowed only four hits, struck out eight, and walked only one in her complete-game effort.

Kornegay (6-2) fanned four, walked two, and allowed 10 hits in the second contest.

Game ONE

Francis Marion Univ. 5, USC Aiken 2 (Feb 25, 2012 at Florence, SC) (Game 1)
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USC Aiken...........       000 100 1 -  2  6  0      (6-1, 0-1 PBC)
Francis Marion Univ. 010 000 4 -  5  7  1      (10-5, 1-0 PBC)
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Pitchers: USC Aiken - India Kornegay and Hillary Stewart. Francis Marion Univ. -
Kayla Ellingsen; Taylor Luff(7) and Olivia Ferguson.
Win-Taylor Luff(1-2)  Loss-India Kornegay(6-1)  T-2:00  A-94
HR FMU - Ashley Jaramillo (4); Jazz Holliday (2).
Weather: Sunny Breezy 52 degrees

Game TWO

Francis Marion Univ. 4, USC Aiken 2 (Feb 25, 2012 at Florence, SC) (Game 2)
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USC Aiken...........      101 000 0 -  2  4  1      (6-2, 0-2 PBC)
Francis Marion Univ. 002 020 X -  4 10  1      (11-5, 2-0 PBC)
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Pitchers: USC Aiken - India Kornegay and Hillary Stewart. Francis Marion Univ. - Taylor Luff
and Olivia Ferguson.
Win-Taylor Luff(2-2)  Loss-India Kornegay(6-2)  T-1:52  A-0
Weather: Partly Sunny Breezy 56 degrees