Box Score AIKEN, SC – Junior center fielder Casey Clauss delivered a key two-run single in the sixth inning and junior left-hander Matt Kelley pitched 7.1 effective innings to carry Francis Marion University to an 8-6 road win over USC Aiken, Saturday evening (March 14) in Peach Belt Conference baseball action.
FMU improves to 12-7 overall and 5-3 in the PBC, passing the Pacers (16-7, 7-6) for fifth place in the conference standings.
The two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday at 1 p.m. at USCA's Roberto Hernandez Stadium.
Kelley upped his season mark to 4-2 as he allowed seven hits and two earned runs, while fanning six and walking only one. Aside from a pair of solo home runs, he silenced the conference's most productive offense. The Pacers rank first in the PBC in runs scored and second in team batting average (.349).
The first three Patriot batters reached base and led to two runs in the top of the first off USCA starter Forrest Koumas (2-2). Senior first baseman Conner Wessel brought home the first run with a sacrifice fly and senior catcher Matt Rubino followed with an RBI single.
Koumas, the reigning PBC Pitcher of the Week after striking out 18 batters in a complete-game shutout win last weekend, played his first three seasons at the University of South Carolina.
Francis Marion doubled its margin to 4-0 on Clauss' bases-loaded single to right field in the sixth. Junior third baseman Randy Loew followed with another sacrifice fly to increase the advantage to 5-0.
After Kelley surrendered back-to-back solo homers to USCA's Zach Moon and Chaz Pal in the bottom of the sixth, FMU quickly responded with a run-scoring single by senior right fielder Zac Lenns in the top of the seventh.
The lead ballooned to 8-2 in the eighth as Wessel doubled home a run and Rubino hit the team's third sac fly of the contest. Interestingly, FMU entered the contest ranked seventh in NCAA Division II for sacrifice flies.
USC Aiken pinch hitter Randy Luckett hit a grand slam in the last of the ninth to narrow the margin, but FMU lefty reliever Jimmy Lindberg induced three of the next four batters to fly out.
Lenns led FMU at the plate with a 3-for-5 effort, while Wessel was 2-for-3 and Rubino was 2-for-4 while extending his hitting streak to nine games. The Patriots were 8-for-20 in the contest while batting with a runner on base.
Right fielder Kody Belcher was the lone Pacer with multiple hits as he went 2-for-5.
Francis Marion 8, USC Aiken 6 (Mar 14, 2015 at Aiken, SC)
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Francis Marion...... 200 003 120 - 8 10 0 (12-7, 5-3 PBC)
USC Aiken........... 000 002 004 - 6 8 2 (16-7, 7-6 PBC)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion - Matt Kelley; Brandon Cook(8); Jimmy Lindberg(9) and Matt Rubino.
USC Aiken – Forrest Koumas; Erik Davis(6); Sam Daniel(9) and Douglas Ard.
Win-Matt Kelley(4-2) Loss-Forrest Koumas(2-2) T-3:08 A-576
HR USCA - Moon; Pal; Luckett.
Weather: Sunny, 68
Cook faced 2 batters in the 9th.
