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FLORENCE, SC – Junior second baseman Tyler Hibbs collected five hits and a game-two save as 14th-ranked Francis Marion University closed out Clifford S. Cormell Field with a Peach Belt Conference sweep of Flagler College on Saturday afternoon (April 7).  Senior center fielder Buddy Sosnoskie drove in four runs and had a trio of hits as the Patriots won the opener 11-3, while senior left-hander Matt Broderick and Hibbs combined on a four-hitter during a 2-1 FMU win in game two.

Francis Marion ups its overall mark to 26-13 and improves to 14-9 in the PBC.  Flagler, which easily won the series opener on Friday night, falls to 22-16 and 10-11.

FMU finishes a 40-year run at the "Cliff with a 656-295-1 record, a .690 winning percentage.  Fittingly, the on-campus facility closes with a pitchers' duel.  In nearly 1000 all-time games, home runs became a rarity.

The Patriots will play host to the two-time defending NCAA Division I national champion South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the new Cormell Field at Sparrow Stadium. The facility is located in the $11.1 million Griffin Athletic Complex located across the street from the FMU campus. 

In Saturday's opener, FMU wasted no time taking an early lead, as Sosnoskie drilled an RBI double to deep center field in the bottom of the first.  Flagler evened the score at 1-1 in the top of the second inning when Jay Laurienzo hit a lead-off solo homer to left field.

The Patriots answered with a four-spot in the bottom of the third inning. Sophomore third baseman Michael Wilson led off the frame with a double into the right center field gap.  Senior outfielder Tyler Boyd then walked, and Hibbs reached on a bunt single to load the bases for Sosnoskie.  The 2011 PBC Co-Player of the Year lifted a sacrifice fly to left center field to give the Patriots the lead for good at 2-1.  Senior designated hitter John Jones followed with an RBI single through the left side, and junior outfielder Jarrod Reed rounded out the scoring on a two-run single to left center, stretching the FMU advantage to 5-1.

Francis Marion put two more runs on the board in the bottom of both the fourth and fifth innings, and then finished its scoring with a pair in the bottom of the seventh.

The Patriots only outhit the Saints 15-11 in the opener, but benefited from multiple timely hits.  The first four hitters in FMU's lineup registered multi-hit games including three-hit games from Hibbs (3-for-5) and Sosnoskie (3-for-4) and two-hit efforts for Wilson and Boyd.  Reed also collected two hits in the opener.

Junior right-hander Spencer Jordan (6-3) got the win after working 5.1 innings, scattering 11 hits, and striking out four.  Junior righty Don Sandifer shut down the Saints' bats over the final 3.2 innings and picked up his second save of the season.  Sandifer retired 11 of the 12 batters he faced and allowed only a two-out walk in the top of the ninth.

Flagler's Jack Charleston took the loss, dropping him to 1-5, as he allowed five runs in 2.2 innings.

In the second game, Flagler left fielder Brett Moreland hit the second pitch of the game from Broderick over the right field fence to give the Saints a 1-0 lead.

Saints' starter Jonathan Armold (5-4) stranded five FMU base runners over the opening four innings as the Patriots could not get a timely hit.  However, the Patriots finally broke through in the fifth frame by scoring twice to take a 2-1 advantage.  Junior catcher Jacob Golliday walked to lead off the frame, and after a fly out, moved to second on an infield single by Boyd.  A base hit to left by Hibbs loaded the bases with one out for Sosnoskie.  The Statesville, N.C., native grounded into a force play at second, but Golliday scored to tie the game at 1-1.  Four pitches later, Boyd scampered home on a wild pitch to put the Patriots up 2-1.

From that point Broderick (5-1) and Hibbs combined to retire the final 12 Saints batters.  Broderick allowed four hits in seven innings, while striking out one and issuing one bases-on-balls.  Hibbs needed only 19 pitches, 15 of which were strikes, to retire six batters and earn his third save of 2012.

Boyd finished the afternoon 4-for-7 and extended his hitting streak to 10 games.  Boyd, Hibbs, junior first baseman Stephen Tarkenton, and senior shortstop Brock McCallister all had two hits in the second game.

Moreland and third baseman Nate Fudala accounted for all of Flagler's hits in game two with each player registering two hits.  Armold took the hard-luck loss.  Fudala was also 3-for-4 in the opener.

Donnie Shell of South Carolina State College, who would later star in the NFL, scored the first-ever run at Cormell Field on April 3, 1973, while Boyd scored the final tally.  Ronnie Miles of S.C. State collected the first hit, while Tarkenton's single to center in the eighth was the final safety.  Francis Marion also won the first contest in a pitchers' duel 3-2. 

#14 Francis Marion Univ. 11, Flagler College 3 (Apr 07, 2012 at Florence, SC) (Game 1)
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Flagler College.....      010 011 000  -  3 11  0      (22-15, 10-10 PBC)
Francis Marion Univ. 104 220 20X  - 11 15  0      (25-13, 13-9 PBC)
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Pitchers: Flagler College - Jack Charleston; Max Kreuter (3); Andrew Castello (7) and Kyle Foti.
Francis Marion Univ. - Spencer Jordan; Don Sandifer (6) and Brian Paulhus.
Win-Spencer Jordan (6-3)  Save-Don Sandifer (2)  Loss-Jack Charleston (1-5)  T-2:26  A-137
HR FLG - Jay Laurienzo (7).
Weather: Clear, Sunny, 62 degrees, NICE

#14 Francis Marion Univ. 2, Flagler College 1 (Apr 07, 2012 at Florence, SC) (Game 2)
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Flagler College.....     100 000 000  -  1  4  0      (22-16, 10-11 PBC)
Francis Marion Univ. 000 020 00X  -  2 10  0      (26-13, 14-9 PBC)
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Pitchers: Flagler College - Jonathan Armold; Max Rusch(7) and Kyle Foti. Francis Marion Univ. -
Matt Broderick; Tyler Hibbs(8) and Jacob Golliday.
Win-Matt Broderick(5-1)  Save-Tyler Hibbs(3)  Loss-Jonathan Armold(5-4)  T-1:51  A-0
HR FLG - Brett Moreland (3).
Weather: Clear, Sunny, 68 degrees

          Tyler Hibbs