FLORENCE, SC – Senior right-hander Taylor Luff registered her third no-hitter of the season and also recorded a game-two save as Francis Marion University swept a Peach Belt Conference softball doubleheader from visiting Georgia Regents University Augusta, Saturday afternoon (March 22) at the FMU Softball Stadium.  FMU won the opener 1-0 behind the pitching of Luff and held off a late rally by the Jaguars to claim a 4-3 victory in the second contest.

Francis Marion evens its overall mark at 15-15 with its third and fourth straight wins, and also sees its PBC mark move to 3-3.  The Patriots will play host to Georgia College for a PBC twinbill on Sunday at 11 a.m. (PLEASE NOTE THE EARLIER START TIME AS RAIN IS FORECAST FOR LATER IN THE DAY).

Luff (8-8) struck out 12 and walked two as FMU won the opener.  The Bonneau, S.C., native becomes the first Patriot hurler to notch three no-hitters in a season. Two other GRU runners reached on Patriot throwing errors in game one.

Francis Marion scored the game's lone run in the bottom of the fifth frame.  Junior first baseman Ashley Burney was hit by a pitch with one out.  Pinch-runner Jessie Sims moved to third on singles by designated player Lindsey Brown and catcher Danielle Myers. With one out, junior third baseman Shelby Mathews grounded the ball up the middle that resulted only in a force out at second as Sims crossed home plate. 

Mathews' mother, a breast cancer survivor, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the twinbill as the Patriots wore pink jerseys and celebrated their annual Strikeout Cancer Day.

Senior shortstop Kristie Hanewinckel, Brown, and senior right fielder Megan Smith all posted 2-for-3 efforts at the plate in game one.  Hanewinckel extended her hitting streak to seven games, but the streak was snapped in the second contest.

Sophomore southpaw Haley Birkle (5-12) was the hard-luck loser in game one.  She allowed the one run on eight hits, while striking out one and walking one.

In game two, FMU built a 4-0 advantage by scoring two runs in each of the first and third innings.  In the opening frame, the Patriots plated their runs without a hit.  Myers walked with the bases loaded to force in a run and Burney scored on a passed ball.  In the third, Myers and junior starting pitcher Katie Carnes both delivered RBI singles to left.

Carnes was 2-for-3 at the plate and the only Patriot with multiple hits in game two. On the mound, she evened her record at 7-7 as she allowed three unearned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and four walks in 5.2 innings.  For Luff, who got the final four outs, it was her first save of 2014 and the second of her career.

The Jaguars scored once in the fifth on a throwing error and then twice in the sixth to trim the margin to 4-3.  Junior third baseman Hannah Vaughn smacked a two-run single to right center in the sixth. Luff relieved Carnes with two outs in the sixth and runners on first and third. On Luff's first pitch, Vaughn took off for second base.  A hard throw from Myers toward second was cut off by Luff who then trapped the runner off third in a run-down and the runner was tagged out at third base to end the threat.

GRU starter Paige Deschaine (7-11) was tagged with the loss as she allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits with six strikeouts and six walks.  Left fielder Ashley Benton was 2-for-4 for the Jaguars in the second contest.

The game-two win was the 299th career victory for FMU head coach Stacey Vallee.

Francis Marion Univ. 4, GRU Augusta 3 (Mar 22, 2014 at Florence, SC) (Game 2)
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GRU Augusta.........    000 012 0 -  3  5  0      (13-24, 1-5 PBC)
Francis Marion Univ. 202 000 X -  4  4  2      (15-15, 3-3 PBC)
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Pitchers: GRU Augusta - Paige Deschaine and Mallory Ferguson. Francis Marion Univ. -
Katie Carnes; Taylor Luff(6) and Danielle Myers.
Win-Katie Carnes(7-7)  Save-Taylor Luff(1)  Loss-Paige Deschaine(7-11)  T-2:00  A-0
Weather: 77, Cloudy, WSW @ 15 mph

Francis Marion Univ. 1, GRU Augusta 0 (Mar 22, 2014 at Florence, SC) (Game 1)
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GRU Augusta.........    000 000 0 -  0  0  1      (13-23, 1-4 PBC)
Francis Marion Univ. 000 010 X -  1  8  2      (14-15, 2-3 PBC)
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Pitchers: GRU Augusta - Haley Birkle and Mallory Ferguson. Francis Marion Univ. - Taylor Luff
and Danielle Myers.
Win-Taylor Luff(8-8)  Loss-Haley Birkle(5-12)  T-1:39  A-524
Weather: 76, Mostly Cloudy, WSW @ 15mph

                                Scoreboard after Taylor Luff's game-one no-hitter.