YOUNG HARRIS, GA – Francis Marion University senior center fielder Jarrod Reed went 6-for-10, but the Patriots could not overcome eight home runs by Young Harris College, including four by center fielder Zach Bricknell, and the Patriots dropped both games of a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader on Friday (May 3) afternoon in college baseball action.  Young Harris won the opener 9-4 and game two 24-7.

The Patriots, who with one win on Friday would have captured the second seed in next week's PBC Tournament, fall to 26-18 overall and will instead enter the tournament as the sixth or seventh seed with an 18-11 league mark.  The Mountain Lions improve to 24-23 and 10-19.

FMU will conclude its regular-season schedule with its Senior Night contest on Monday at 7 p.m. against 28th-ranked Winston-Salem State University.

In game one, Bricknell became only the 11th player in conference history to homer three times in a PBC contest.  He drove in six of the Mountain Lions' nine tallies.

FMU held early leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but three-run outbursts by Young Harris in the fifth and sixth frames doomed the Patriots.

Senior right-hander Don Sandifer (5-5) suffered the loss as he surrendered five runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings.

Senior designated hitter Will Chandler went 2-for-4, including his team-leading eighth home run, and drove in three runs.  Both Reed and junior right fielder Isaac Davenport also had two hits apiece. Davenport added a hit in game two to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

Holding a narrow 2-1 lead in game two, the Mount Lions exploded for nine runs in the bottom of the third inning.  After the Patriots responded with five tallies in the top of the fourth to narrow the deficit to 11-6, Young Harris scored 13 unanswered runs over its next four at bats.

Junior righty Jeffrey Stoner (4-3) making his first start since early in the season, took the loss as he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits in three innings.

Reed went 4-for-5 in the second contest, including a pair of doubles.  Senior third baseman Stephen Tarkenton was 2-for-5 with three RBIs, while Chandler was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and senior first baseman Rhodes Dickerson was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in.

Young Harris hit five homers in the second game, including Bricknell's fourth of the day.  He registered nine RBIs on the day.  Shortstop Tom Valichka led the Mountain Lions in game two with a 5-for-6 effort that included three runs scored, a double, a homer, and two RBIs.  First baseman Dom Wyshinski went 4-for-4 with a double and six RBIs.