Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CHARLOTTE, NC – Junior right-handed pitcher Taylor Luff pitched her first career no-hitter as Francis Marion University split a non-conference softball doubleheader with Queens University of Charlotte on Thursday afternoon (March 21).
Behind Luff's near-perfect game, the Patriots won the opener 8-0 in six innings, while the Royals (11-16) used a pair of three-run homers in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally for a 6-3 victory in the second contest.
Francis Marion reaches the 20-win plateau for the 19th consecutive season. The 20-14 Patriots will play host to sixth-ranked University of North Georgia on Saturday at 1 p.m. in a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader.
In game one, Luff (11-8) struck out 10 and the only base-runner she allowed was a lead-off walk in the fifth inning. She allowed only four balls to be hit out of the infield. Last year, the Bonneau, S.C., native tossed three complete-game one-hitters.
A trio of Patriots registered two hits apiece: junior right fielder Megan Smith, junior designated player Danielle Payne, and freshman center fielder Cat Zalud. Junior shortstop Lindsey Brown drove in a pair of runs with a single and a ground out, while freshman catcher Taylor Barrineau recorded her first collegiate RBIs with a two-run single to center.
The Patriots scored three times in the second inning, four times in the fifth, and got a lead-off solo homer from senior third baseman Tristan Faile in the sixth.
In the second game, Payne (4-5) moved to the mound and pitched five shutout frames before the Royals pounded a pair of three-run homers in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The two teams combined for only three hits and no runs over the first four frames. FMU took a 3-0 advantage in the top of the fifth. Carly Madigan, Luff, and Zalud all singled with two outs to load the bases. Faile then walked to force in a run and Smith followed with a two-run single to left field.
However, in the last of the sixth, Queens' first baseman Kaityn Cheek and shortstop Amanda Meade both hit three-run home runs, making a winner of Royal reliever Kaitlin Bodine (4-4).
Francis Marion Univ. 8, QUEENS 0 (Mar 21, 2013 at Charlotte, N.C.) (Game 1)
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Francis Marion Univ. 030 041 - 8 10 0 (20-13)
QUEENS.............. 000 000 - 0 0 3 (10-16)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion Univ. - Taylor Luff and Taylor Barrineau. QUEENS - MCCURRY; BODINE(6)
and HARRELL.
Win-Taylor Luff(11-8) Loss-MCCURRY(4-7) T-1:35 A-45
HR FMU_SB - Tristan Faile (4).
MCCURRY faced 1 batter in the 6th.
QUEENS 6, Francis Marion Univ. 3 (Mar 21, 2013 at Charlotte, N.C.) (Game 2)
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Francis Marion Univ. 000 030 0 - 3 5 2 (20-14)
QUEENS.............. 000 006 X - 6 6 0 (11-16)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion Univ. - Danielle Payne; Taylor Luff(6) and Taylor Barrineau. QUEENS -
ROLLINS; BODINE(5) and HARRELL.
Win-BODINE(4-4) Loss-Danielle Payne(4-5) T-1:40
HR QUSB13 - CHEEK; MEADE.
Weather: Clear and Sunny
