FLORENCE, SC – Junior outfielder Reese Cooley and junior catcher William Robbins both delivered walk-off game-winning hits as 12th-ranked Francis Marion University swept a non-conference baseball doubleheader from the College of Saint Rose, winning 7-5 and 8-7 on Saturday afternoon (March 4).

Francis Marion improves to 16-2, while Saint Rose falls to 0-5.  The two squads will play the finale of their three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Cooley belted a two-run homer over the left field wall with one out in the bottom of the ninth to provide the game-one victory, while Robbins laced an RBI-single up the middle with two outs in the ninth of the second game.

Robbins also led the Patriot bats in game one as he went 4-for-4 with three runs batted in.  His run-scoring single in the fifth inning helped FMU build a 4-2 advantage.  After the Golden Knights rallied to tie the game at 4-4 on Matt McKinnon's two-run double in the sixth, Robbins delivered another run-scoring hit to put FMU ahead 5-4 in the seventh.

However, Saint Rose took advantage of a two-out throwing error to plate the tying run in the top of the ninth and that set the stage for Cooley's heroics in the bottom half of the frame.

FMU sophomore right-hander Cole Hinnant (2-0) earned the win as he allowed only one unearned run in 2.2 innings of work.  Saint Rose's Dominic Razzano (0-1) was the losing pitcher.

In game two, Francis Marion grabbed a first-inning 2-0 advantage as Cooley singled home a run and Robbins followed with a sacrifice fly.  Saint Rose responded by scoring seven unanswered runs and the Golden Knights carried a 7-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth.

FMU gradually chipped away at the deficit as freshman pinch hitter Jameson Spitzmiller trimmed the margin to 7-3 with an RBI-single in the sixth.  In the bottom of the eighth, Cooley walked with the bases loaded to force in a fourth run and Robbins followed with an RBI fielder's choice grounder to bring the Patriots to within 7-5 heading to the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth, junior left fielder Brooks Kennedy singled with one out and moved to second base when the ball was misplayed in the outfield.  Freshman center fielder Connor Howell reached on a bunt single up the third base line with Kennedy moving to third.  Following a strikeout, junior Zach Paquette struck out for what would have been the third out, but reached base when the wild pitch eluded the catcher.  With the bases now loaded, senior second baseman Antonio Pino plated two with a sharp single that ate up the Saint Rose first baseman.  Cooley followed with a walk that again loaded the bases and Robbins lined a 1-1 pitch from Saint Rose southpaw reliever Joe Pokrentowski up the middle scoring Paquette with the winning run.

Junior righty Cayman Hatton (1-0) picked up his first win as a Patriot after he struck out the side in the top of the ninth.  Three FMU hurlers combined to fan 12 Golden Knight batters, while three Saint Rose pitchers struck out 11 Patriot batters, but also issued eight walks.

Pino finished game two 3-for-5, while Kennedy was 2-for-4.  Paquette posted a hit in each game of the twinbill to extend his streak of safely reaching base to 14 games.

Scheller and designated hitter Joe Foran each had three hits for Saint Rose in the second contest.