The Francis Marion University baseball team will finish its 11-game home stand with a Peach Belt Conference series against Lander University on Saturday and Sunday (March 13-14). First pitch is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 1 p.m.

Admission to the Griffin Athletic Complex will be limited to 250 spectators, including only FMU season ticket holders, FMU students who pick up free tickets prior to first pitch, and family members of team members who purchase tickets beforehand. No walk-up day-of-game ticket sales will be available. Spectators will be required to wear masks and social distancing will be observed.

Francis Marion (7-4, 5-4) will send three seniors – right-hander Daniel Twitty (1-0 record, 3.77 ERA), southpaw Weston Rogers (2-1, 2.20), and righty Bailey Wendel (1-1, 3.07) – to the mound this weekend against the Bearcats (9-4, 5-3).

"Lander is a really good team," said FMU head coach Art Inabinet. "This weekend we will need to continue to pitch well, not allow any free bases, and keep the ball in the park." The Bearcats are ranked eighth in the latest NCBWA South Region Top 10 poll.  Inabinet picked up his 700th overall win last weekend when the Patriots took the field against Claflin.

The Patriots currently lead the league in batting at .357 with 146 hits and 95 runs batted in. Lander leads the conference in team earned run average at 4.38 and the Bearcats are third in hitting with a .307 team average.

Two Patriots rank in the top-10 in the PBC in hitting. Junior right fielder Will Hardee ranks No. 2 in batting at .488 with two doubles, two home runs, and 11 RBIs. The hometown kid is slugging .683 with a .522 on-base percentage. Last week, he went 7-for-8 in two games, and earned a save in his first collegiate pitching appearance, against Barton College on March 2.

FMU senior third baseman Todd Mattox ranks No.4 in the PBC with a .481 average, while scoring 15 runs and driving in 19. The Winnsboro native is slugging .741 and has an on-base percentage of .517. He also ranks No. 4 in the Nation and No. 1 in the PBC in hits with 26. He is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak and has safely reached base in 19 consecutive games dating back to last season. Mattox was named the Peach Belt Conference Baseball Player of the Week for his performance last week when he batted .526 (10-for-19) with nine runs scored and 11 runs driven in.

The Patriots hold a 39-27 series lead over the Bearcats heading into the weekend. 

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