FLORENCE, SC  – Senior center fielder Jarrod Reed collected four hits at the top of the line-up to help lead Francis Marion University to a doubleheader sweep over Saint Augustine's University, 9-2 and 6-1, Wednesday evening (April 3) in non-conference baseball action.

Francis Marion improves 17-13 and will move on to face 11th-ranked UNC Pembroke in a key Peach Belt Conference series this weekend.  The squads will play a twinbill on Saturday at 1 p.m. and a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Saint Augustine's, which entered the doubleheader as the 11th highest scoring team in NCAA Division II at 8.3 runs per game and second in stolen bases with 111, drops to 22-15.

 Reed went 3-for-4 in the opener with two runs scored and two driven in.  Senior designated hitter Will Chandler was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs.  The pair helped junior right-hander Austin Cox (1-0) earn his first win as a Patriot.  Cox allowed three hits and two runs, both unearned, while striking out three and walking none.  Righties Justin Turbeville and Brandon Stoots combined for three scoreless frames in relief.

The Patriots scored once in the first and twice in the second, before the Falcons trimmed the lead to 3-2 with single tallies in the third and fourth innings.

FMU batted around in the fifth frame while scoring six times.  The outburst included run-scoring hits by Reed, Chandler, senior first baseman Rhodes Dickerson, freshman catcher Cole Morris, and senior third baseman Stephen Tarkenton.

Falcons' starter Desmon Cheek (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season as he surrendered nine runs (only four were earned) on nine hits in 4.2 innings of work.

Saint Augustine's outfielders Jason Baytop and Jamie Scott both went 2-for-3 in the opener.

In the second contest, FMU scored four times in the first and twice more in the second to build an early 6-0 advantage.  Senior right-hander Gary Ashcraft (4-3) earned the win.  He gave up only four hits and one unearned run in his four-inning stint.

FMU junior shortstop Michael Wilson drove in three runs with a double and a triple, while Tarkenton had a pair of doubles and two runs scored.  Dickerson, who has now hit in eight straight games and 22 of his last 23, plated two runs with a first-inning single.

Morris, who was appearing in his first collegiate games, finished the doubleheader 2-for-3 with three runs scored and one driven in, while reaching base five times in six plate appearances.  He was behind the plate subbing for injured Patriot receivers Jacob Golliday and Chandler – although Chandler was able to DH.

Scott again had two hits to pace the Falcons, while Baytop drove in the lone run with a single through the left side.

Sophomore Brock Holmes (3-4) absorbed the loss as he allowed six runs on nine hits.