FLORENCE, SC – Junior center fielder Gage Taylor lined a run-scoring single up the middle through a drawn-in infield with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Francis Marion University to a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Young Harris College, Friday evening (March 16) in Peach Belt Conference baseball action.

Francis Marion (10-15, 4-9) and Young Harris (11-12, 6-7) will continue their three-game Carolinas Hospital System Classic series with a single game on Saturday at 2 p.m.  The final contest will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Taylor paced the Patriots with three hits and two RBIs from his lead-off spot, while also extending his hitting streak to nine games.  Junior third baseman Alex Griffith also registered three hits as FMU rallied from a 4-1 deficit after six innings.

Patriot sophomore right-hander Christian Umphlett (3-2) earned the win in relief as tossed a scoreless top of the ninth with two strikeouts.  Altogether, Patriot pitchers fanned 12 Mountain Lion batters.

The winning rally was ignited by a lead-off double down the right field line by senior designated hitter Tee DuBose. Freshman right fielder Nicky Winterstein then attempted to sacrifice bunt pinch runner Austin Fox over to third base, but the ball was mishandled by Mountain Lion reliever Jake Tomelevage (2-1) putting runners on first and third.  Winterstein advanced to second on defensive indifference before Tomelevage recorded the first out on a strikeout. 

Choosing not to walk the bases loaded and allow for a force out at home or a potential inning-ending double play, Young Harris elected to pitch to Taylor, the Patriots' leading RBI man, and he ended the game with a hard grounder up the middle off an 1-2 pitch.  Taylor now has a team-high 24 RBIs in 25 contests.

Third baseman Logan Worley led Young Harris with two hits.

A two-out fielding error in the top of the second resulted in the Mountain Lions scoring twice.

Winterstein led off the last of the third with a single to center. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and came home to score FMU's first run on a sharp single to right field by Taylor.

A walk, a double down the left field line by Worley, and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs in Young Harris' half of the fifth inning, and chased FMU starter Sam High. An RBI ground out by designated hitter Jackson Jones plated the Mountain Lions' third run and a misplayed infield pop-up gave Young Harris a 4-1 advantage.

Trailing by three, FMU senior catcher William Robbins led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to left and Griffith followed with a double to the right centerfield gap. Senior first baseman Trey Chapman battled through a 13-pitch at bat before hitting a sacrifice fly to deep right field and bringing the Patriots to within 4-2.  However, YHC starter Michael Livingston recovered to fan the next two batters and end the FMU threat.

The Mountain Lions loaded the bases in the top of the eighth, but Patriot junior southpaw Arien Seymour fanned center fielder Royce Woolfolk to end the frame.

In the home half of the inning, freshman left fielder Peyton Creech was hit by a pitch and Taylor lined a single to right center putting runners on first and third with no outs.  Junior Steven Cox grounded out to shortstop to plate Creech and junior shortstop CJ Mackinson greeted Tomelevage with a single up the middle to score Taylor with the tying run.  Griffith later singled to put two runners on, but the Patriots could not push across the go-ahead tally.

Only one of the four runs allowed by High in his four frames was earned.  He struck out six and issued only one walk.  Seymour pitched four scoreless innings and surrendered only two hits.

Mackinson's eighth-inning hit extended his hitting streak to eight games.

Francis Marion Univ. 5, Young Harris College 4 (Mar 16, 2018 at Florence, SC)
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Young Harris College 020 020 000  -  4  8  1      (11-12, 6-7 PBC)
Francis Marion Univ. 001 000 121  -  5 10  2      (10-15, 4-9 PBC)
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Pitchers: Young Harris College - Michael Livingston; Jake Tomelevage(8) and Cory Ewald.
Francis Marion Univ. - Sam High; Arien Seymour(5); Christian Umphlett(9) and William Robbins.
Win-Christian Umphlett (3-2)  Loss-Jake Tomelevage (2-1)  T-3:20  A-538
Weather: Partly cloudy,75,winds:E@1mph
High faced 3 batters in the 5th.