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FLORENCE, SC- Junior right-hander Spencer Jordan pitched five scoreless innings and senior second baseman Brock McCallister tallied three hits and two runs batted in as top-ranked Francis Marion University opened its 2012 season with a 10-2 non-conference victory over Limestone College, Saturday afternoon (Feb. 4) in baseball action.
The two teams will conclude their season-opening two-game series with a single contest on Sunday at 1 p.m. at FMU's Cormell Field. Saturday's contest featured the largest opening day crowd at Cormell Field in recent memory. Limestone is coached by Chico Lombardo, a 1979 FMU graduate and a Hall of Fame outfielder for the Patriots.
Jordan (1-0), a native of Florence, made his first start for the Patriots and allowed only three singles while striking out eight batters. Senior righty Jarrott Hooks, a Marion native, finished up with a four-inning save.
FMU opened the season with a first-inning run as lead-off batter Michael Wilson walked and later scored on an RBI-single to right center field by junior catcher Jacob Golliday. Golliday also finished the game with three hits as the Patriots pounded out 17 safeties.
The Patriots scored seven times in the fourth inning en route to a 9-0 advantage after six frames. The fourth inning was highlighted by a two-run triple from senior center fielder Buddy Sosnoskie and a two-run double by McCallister.
Limestone scored a single run in the seventh on a solo home run by left fielder Chad Balderman and a single run in the ninth on a wild pitch. Balderman finished the day 3-for-4 and scored both Limestone runs.
Senior right-hander Matt Crisp (0-1), the first of four Saints' hurlers, was tagged with the loss despite only allowing one run on three hits in three innings of work.
In addition to McCallister and Golliday, Sosnoskie, junior first baseman Stephen Tarkenton, junior right fielder Jarrod Reed, and sophomore designated hitter Dalton Gress all produced multiple-hit games. Every Patriot position player had a hit in the game.
#1 Francis Marion Univ. 10, Limestone College 2 (Feb 04, 2012 at Florence, SC)
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Limestone College... 000 000 101 - 2 9 1 (0-1)
Francis Marion Univ. 100 710 01X - 10 17 2 (1-0)
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Pitchers: Limestone College - Matt Crisp; Zach Lucas (4); Jason Biershenk (5); Kaleb Earls (6) and
Josh Lyon. Francis Marion Univ. - Spencer Jordan; Jarrott Hooks (6) and Jacob Golliday.
Win-Spencer Jordan (1-0) Save-Jarrott Hooks (1) Loss-Matt Crisp (0-1) T-2:32 A-233
HR LC - Chad Balderman (1).
Weather: Partly Overcast, 62 degrees
Spencer Jordan
