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SAVANNAH, GA – Senior center fielder Buddy Sosnoskie registered three hits, two runs scored, and one run batted in while junior right-hander Tyler Hibbs tossed 2.2 innings of scoreless relief as 23rd-ranked Francis Marion University beat 20th-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State University 7-4 to earn a split of Sunday's (March 25) Peach Belt Conference baseball doubleheader. The Pirates pounded out 14 hits and took advantage of four FMU errors to claim a 12-4 victory in the opener.
Francis Marion (20-11, 9-7) and Armstrong (20-7, 8-6) will play the rubber game of the three-game series on Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. on Pirate Field.
In the second contest, Francis Marion never trailed after scoring twice in the top of the first. Senior southpaw Matt Broderick (3-1) earned the win as he pitched 6.1 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits. Hibbs then moved from shortstop to the mound and posted his first save as he fanned six of the 13 batters he faced.
A Pirate error and an RBI double by junior first baseman Stephen Tarkenton staked FMU to the 2-0 lead. Sosnoskie extended the margin to 3-0 with an RBI single in the second, and after Armstrong scored once in the last of the second, senior second baseman Brock McCallister came home on a wild pitch in the third to push the lead to 4-1.
McCallister, Tarkenton, and Hibbs, along with junior right fielder Jarrod Reed, all finished the second contest with two hits and one run driven in.
In the opener, Armstrong scored a combined nine runs in the fifth and sixth innings en route to the easy win. FMU sophomore righty Jeffrey Stoner (4-2) suffered only the second loss of his young career as he allowed eight runs in five innings.
After falling behind 3-0, FMU rallied on a two-run homer to left center field by junior designated hitter Jacob Golliday in the top of the fifth. However, the Pirates answered with five tallies in the last of the fifth and four more runs in the sixth to take a 12-2 advantage.
A two-run homer by senior outfielder Austin Smetana in the top of the ninth completed the scoring.
Sosnoskie was 2-for-3 in game one with a run scored, while junior catcher Will Chandler was 2-fo-4.
Armstrong's Chandler Hall (4-2) scattered 13 hits and struck out five in a complete-game effort. Third baseman Drew Walker led the Pirates at the plate with a 3-for-5 game that included three doubles, two runs scored, and three RBIs. Walker added a solo homer in game two.
#20 Armstrong 12, #23 Francis Marion 4 (Mar 25, 2012 at Savannah, Ga.) (Game 1)
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Francis Marion...... 000 020 002 - 4 13 4 (19-11, 8-7 PBC)
Armstrong........... 110 154 00X - 12 14 1 (20-6, 8-5 PBC)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion - Jeffrey Stoner; Dyson Coker(6) and Will Chandler. Armstrong - Hall
and Roberts.
Win-Hall(4-2) Loss-Jeffrey Stoner(4-2) T-2:21 A-191
HR FMU - Austin Smetana (1); Jacob Golliday (1).
Weather: clear, breezy, 72 degrees
#23 Francis Marion 7, #20 Armstrong 4 (Mar 25, 2012 at Savannah, Ga.) (Game 2)
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Francis Marion...... 211 001 110 - 7 12 1 (20-11, 9-7 PBC)
Armstrong........... 010 011 100 - 4 11 2 (20-7, 8-6 PBC)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion - Matt Broderick; Tyler Hibbs(7) and Jacob Golliday. Armstrong -
Bader; Beach(8) and Miller.
Win-Matt Broderick(3-1) Save-Tyler Hibbs(1) Loss-Bader(6-3) T-2:50 A-0
HR ARMSTRNG - Walker (1).
Weather: partly cloudy, breezy, 75
