MILLEDGEVILLE, GA – Seniors Matt Rubino and Conner Wessel registered three RBIs each to lead Francis Marion University past the Georgia College Bobcats by a score of 11-5 on Friday (April 3) in Peach Belt Conference baseball action.

The Patriots (22-10, 11-6) have won 10 of their last 11 games.  Georgia College's record sinks to 18-14 overall and 7-9 in PBC play.

The two teams will complete their three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.  

Francis Marion scored in five of the contest's first six innings and registered 16 hits for the game.  Wessel's RBI groundout tallied the first run of the night in the opening frame.  Georgia College wasted no time in answering with two solo round-trippers in the bottom of the first.  Junior center fielder Jake Sandlin homered to right center, and junior second baseman Dylan Cook, who went 3-for-5 on the night, connected on a homer to left center to move the Bobcats in front 2-1.

Junior center fielder Casey Clauss drove in FMU's next two runs.  He tied the game at 2-2 in the second on a run-scoring triple, and then gave the Patriots the 3-2 edge on an RBI single in the fourth.

GC tallied two runs to reclaim the 4-3 advantage in the home half of the fourth, including an RBI single by freshman Brandon Purcell. 

But FMU responded in the fifth thanks to an RBI double from Wessel and an RBI sacrifice fly by junior Ryan Miller to recapture the lead at 5-4. 

In the fifth, senior first baseman Cody Ardeeser knotted the score one final time (5-5) on a single up the middle.

FMU's potent offense took over from there.  In the sixth, junior right fielder Zac Lenns touched home on a wild pitch to score the go-ahead run.  Later, junior left fielder JD Crowe gashed a single to left field to plate sophomore Zach Callahan to make the score 7-5.  Clauss then scored on an error and Rubino belted a three-run blast (his only hit of the night) to right field to seal the deal for Francis Marion. Rubino extended his hitting streak to 22 games.

Junior lefty Matt Kelley (6-2) struck out a season-high 14 batters to earn his second complete game win of the season, while sophomore right-hander Brady Walsh (2-1) dropped his first decision, giving up six runs and six hits to FMU in an inning of work.

Crowe (3-for-4), Callahan and Clauss (both 3-for-5) all turned in three-hit performances, with Wessel (2-for-4) and Lenns (2-for-5) following close behind.

Purcell (3-for-4) joined Cook among the Bobcats with three hits, while Ardreeser and sophomore Brandon Benson were both 2-for-5.