MOUNT OLIVE, NC – University of Mount Olive senior left-hander Derek Justice pitched eight shutout innings and fanned eight Francis Marion University batters as the 28th-ranked Trojans defeated the Patriots 5-0 on Wednesday (May 6) in non-conference baseball action.

Francis Marion finishes its regular season at 28-18.  The Patriots will be the seventh seed in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and will face the second-seeded Armstrong State University Pirates on Saturday (May 9) at 11 a.m. in Columbus, Ga.

Justice (9-2) walked only two FMU batters in his eight innings of work.  Sophomore right-hander Kodi Whitley entered in the top of the ninth and retired the Patriots in order to seal the game for UMO.  It was only the second time this season that FMU, ranked 12th nationally in scoring at 8.6 runs per game, did not register a tally in a contest.

Francis Marion's most productive inning came in the fourth, when junior third baseman Randy Loew singled to center field and junior left fielder JD Crowe followed with a double down the left field line.  But with one out and Loew standing at third, FMU's final two batters in the inning flied out.   FMU also stranded a pair of runners in the top of the sixth.

Senior right-hander Jordy Santak (4-4), the first of nine FMU hurlers, was tagged with the loss after surrendering two runs in the first. 

Crowe went 1-for-3 to extend his streak of safely reaching base to 31 contests. The other FMU hits were recorded by Loew, Nicholas McGee, Ryan Miller, and Zac Lenns.

The Trojans (37-14) were also aided by three home runs, including two by junior center fielder Jason Morozowski.  He slugged a two-run blast to right center to open the scoring in the first, and his solo round-tripper to left center in the fifth moved UMO ahead 3-0.

In the sixth, junior first baseman Rob Shipman drilled a solo shot which gave Mount Olive a 4-0 advantage.  The Trojans scored their fifth and final run in the seventh on an RBI sacrifice fly by second baseman Joe Koehler.