FLORENCE, SC – Despite a two-run bottom of the eighth inning, a strong start from Young Harris College senior right-hander Donald Frew puzzled Francis Marion University in a 4-2 loss to the Mountain Lions, Saturday afternoon (March 19) in Peach Belt Conference baseball action.

Francis Marion drops to 16-10 overall and 4-7 in the Peach Belt, while the Mountain Lions up their records to 9-16 and 4-10.  The two squads will close out their weekend series with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

FMU senior righty Brandon Cook (2-2) took the loss for the Patriots, tossing 3.1 innings.  He scattered seven hits, fanned three, and allowed two runs.  Junior right-hander John McGinty pitched 3.1 innings of relief, striking out three and allowing one unearned run. Senior right-hander Ryan Manore worked 1.1 scoreless innings. Patriot pitching combined to strikeout nine Young Harris batters.

Patriot sophomore shortstop Brooks Kennedy finished the game 1-for-4 with one run scored and one run batted in. His two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Junior third baseman Antonio Pino, senior second baseman Cole Morris, and senior designated hitter JD Crowe all had two hits.

Junior right fielder Troy Kizer accounted for the first run of the game for the Mountain Lions with his RBI single in the top of the second inning. Junior third baseman Zach Wall kicked-off the fourth inning with a double into left field. Three batters later, freshman Zach Beggs would plate Wall from third base with an RBI single to right field, making it 2-0.

McGinty kept the Mountain Lions off of the scoreboard in the fifth and sixth innings. At the plate, FMU found themselves on the wrong side of three double plays turned by Young Harris. McGinty would exit the game with two outs in the seventh inning after an error allowed a run to score, making it 3-0.

Frew (2-3) allowed nine hits and only one earned run in 7.2 innings of work.

The Mountain Lions turned things over to their bullpen in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Patriots found their way onto the scoreboard. Morris started the inning with one of his two-hits. Three batters later, he would score on a single by Kennedy that eluded the third baseman and trickled into left field. FMU would pull within a run at 3-2, thanks to an RBI double from Crowe off of senior southpaw Cody Beck.

Young Harris regained its two-run lead in the top of the ninth inning against junior right-hander Jacob Shumate as four walks resulted in an insurance run.

Looking to rally against Beck in the last of the ninth inning, the Patriots would go down in order. Beck earned his first save of the season, tossing the final 1.1 innings of the game, striking out two batters, and allowing one hit.