Box Score BELMONT, NC – Right fielder Nick Beinlich led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run to lift 16th-ranked Belmont Abbey College to a come-from-behind 8-7 win over Francis Marion University, Tuesday afternoon (March 22) in non-conference baseball action.
The Patriots (17-11) will travel to Greenwood, S.C., for a three-game series with 22nd-ranked and Peach Belt Conference co-leader Lander University this weekend. The two teams will play a single game on Friday at 6 p.m. and a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 p.m.
FMU held a 7-5 advantage heading to the bottom of the eighth, but the Crusaders scored twice to knot the contest at 7-7. In the ninth, Beinlich then lined an 0-2 pitch from FMU sophomore righty Zac Burke (0-1) out of the park.
Patriot first baseman Zach Callahan led FMU with a 3-for-3 day at the plate with two runs scored. Junior catcher Logan Koch was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two runs batted in.
Beinlich finished the game 3-for-5 with two homers and three RBIs.
Ross Garrett (6-0) earned the win in relief for the Crusaders with 2.1 scoreless innings.
Francis Marion employed six hurlers on Tuesday with Brandon Cook being the most effective. He hurled three scoreless frames, allowing only three hits.
#16 Belmont Abbey 8, Francis Marion 7 (Mar 22, 2016 at Belmont, NC)
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Francis Marion...... 001 301 200 - 7 8 1 (17-11)
Belmont Abbey....... 302 000 021 - 8 12 1 (24-5-1)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion - Cole Hinnant; Brandon Cook(4); Chance DuCharme(7); Jacob Shumate(8);
John McGinty(8); Zac Burke(8) and Logan Koch. Belmont Abbey - Matt Davenport; Brady Hill(6);
Ross Garrett(7) and Kevin Elefante; Thomas Yoder.
Win-Ross Garrett(6-0) Loss-Zac Burke(0-1) T-2:37 A-78
HR BAC - Nick Beinlich 2; Kayden Krause.
McGinty faced 1 batter in the 8th.
Burke faced 1 batter in the 9th.
