SAINT LEO, FL – Sophomore first baseman Carly Madigan's two-out walk-off run-scoring single lifted Francis Marion University to a 2-1 upset of sixth-ranked University of Tampa, Sunday afternoon (Feb. 24) in the final game of the Saint Leo Challenge.

Earlier in the day, the Patriots lost to Barry University 6-3.

Francis Marion, which finished the three-day event 2-2 to move to 12-6 on the season, will play a non-conference doubleheader at Mars Hill College on Saturday at noon.

In the win over the Spartans, sophomore right-hander Katie Carnes (3-1) earned the win. She allowed six hits, struck out three, walked two, and induced 15 ground ball outs.  She retired the first eight Tampa batters she faced.

Tampa first baseman Megan Burke homered to left field to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth.  FMU answered back in the bottom of the frame as Megan Smith's two-out grounder to shortstop was booted for an error allowing Tristan Faile to score and tie the game at 1-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, freshman outfielder Christina Smoley reached on a fielding error by Tampa pitcher Kayla Cox (8-1). She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and after junior second baseman Kristie Hanewinckel walked, both runners moved up on a single by Faile.  After a foul out, Madigan came through with the two-out hit, a single to left field, that plated Smoley with the winning run.

Madigan (2-for-4) was the only Patriot with multiple hits.

In the loss to Barry, Francis Marion took a 2-0 advantage with single runs in the first and third innings.  Junior right-handed pitcher Taylor Luff reached on a single in the first and eventually came around to score on a single to left by senior catcher Olivia Ferguson.  In the third, Luff reached on a bunt single and later scampered home on an RBI single to right field by Faile.

Barry scored five times in the top of the fifth inning on four hits.  The Buccaneers were also helped by a pair of dropped fly balls in the inning.

FMU got a single tally back in the bottom of the fifth on a solo homer to left by Faile, but Barry added an insurance run in the top of the six to restore its three-run cushion.

Francis Marion did load the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but Smoley lined out to shortstop to end the game.

Luff was 3-for-4 in the first game, and after a hit against Tampa, now has a 11-game hitting streak. Both Faile and Ferguson had two hits in the Barry contest.

Luff (7-4) suffered the loss as she allowed nine hits and three earned runs, while fanning six.  Carnes pitched the final 1.1 innings and allowed only one walk.