FLORENCE, SC – Sophomore second baseman Brooks Kennedy drilled a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning to catapult Francis Marion University to an 18-10 win over UNC Pembroke, Saturday afternoon (April 9) in Peach Belt Conference baseball action.

The Patriots improve to 22-16 overall and even their mark at 10-10 in conference play, pushing FMU ahead of UNCP (23-14, 9-11) and into a tie for sixth-place in the conference with Georgia College.

FMU and UNCP will wrap up their three-game series with a single contest on Sunday at 1 p.m. with McLeod Sports Medicine, Pee Dee Orthopaedic Associates PA, and Florence youth baseball leagues joining the Patriots at Sparrow Stadium. All youth players wearing their baseball uniform will be admitted to the game free-of-charge.

After surrendering a single run to the Braves in the top of the fifth and losing its 9-8 lead, FMU rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring twice with two outs. Junior shortstop Antonio Pino started the frame with a lead-off single that took a high hop off of the pitcher's mound. Two batters later, a base-on-balls to senior center fielder Casey Clauss allowed Pino to reach second.

Senior first baseman Randy Loew then grounded into a fielder's choice to the third baseman, with Loew reaching base on the play after the fielder recorded the out and his ensuing throw went into right field. That play allowed Clauss, who originally was on first base to score the go-ahead run off of UNCP reliever Trace Hagler (1-1).  Junior catcher Logan Koch rounded out the scoring with an RBI single into left field to give the Patriots a two-run cushion at 11-9.

After UNCP closed to within a single run in the seventh, FMU junior right-hander Jacob Shumate (2-0) got Braves catcher Alex Minton to pop-up to third base, stranding the potential tying run on base and preserving the lead in the process. Shumate earned the win after junior righty John McGinty was able to work out of a bases-loaded situation in the eighth inning. McGinty picked-up his third save of the season by virtue of a scoreless ninth.

Kennedy reached base on four separate occasions for the Patriots, finishing 4-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs and four runs scored.  He was only a single shy of hitting for the cycle and also extended his streak of safely reaching bases to 26 games. Clauss went 3-for-5, scoring three runs and driving in two. Koch, Loew, and Pino each finished with two hits apiece.

After FMU pushed across three runs in the bottom of first, UNCP answered with five runs against Patriot starter Matt Kelley in the top of second. The southpaw walked in a pair of runs before a call to the bullpen. Holding onto a 3-2 lead, junior righty Chance DuCharme surrendered a two-RBI double to UNCP third baseman Hayden Buffkin.  Now leading 4-2, the Braves would stretch their lead to 5-2 with a sacrifice fly to right field before ending the offensive outburst.

The Patriots chipped away at the margin in the last of the second on a sac fly to right by senior JD Crowe, making it 5-4. The Braves would up their lead to 6-4 in the top of the third before seeing the lead slip away in the bottom half of the frame.

In the home portion of the third, Koch gave FMU its first baserunner of the inning by working a one-out walk. Two batters later, senior third baseman Cole Morris scored Koch from first base with a two-out RBI double into left field, making the score 6-5. After a walk put a pair of runners on base, Kennedy sent a 3-1 offering from UNCP starter Alex Britt over the wall in right field for a three-run home run, giving the Patriots an 8-6 lead.

Junior Stibel Aleman Saba doubled home one run with two outs in the top of the fourth for the Braves, capping-off a two-run inning that saw UNCP even the score 8-8. FMU answered with a run in the bottom half of the frame to regain a 9-8 lead. Clauss would get things going for the Patriots with a one-out double into the left center field gap. He would later advance to third on a single from Loew and then score on a sacrifice fly from Koch.

UNCP second baseman Nick Salisbury finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Center fielder Roberto Rivera went 3-for-5 with a triple and a run scored in the lead-off spot for the Braves, while right fielder Nick Debo finished 2-for-4 with a solo home run and four runs scored.

UNCP pitchers issued seven walks, while picking up only three strikeouts. The Braves committed six errors in the contest, with three of them leading to five unearned runs scoring for FMU in the eighth and stretching the margin to 18-10.

Kelley surrendered five runs on three hits in one inning of work for FMU, while Britt pitched three innings, allowing eight runs on seven hits. DuCharme allowed three runs to score in 2.2 innings of relief for the Patriots, while Shumate held the Braves to two runs (one earned) and three hits through 3.1 innings on the mound. McGinty registered his first hit in a Patriots uniform in the eighth with a single and tossed the final 1.2 frames, fanning two batters and allowing just two hits.