FLORENCE, SC — The bats of outfielders
Will Hardee and
Jack Hegan guided Francis Marion University to an 11-1 win over Lander University on Saturday afternoon (March 13) in Peach Belt Conference baseball action.
The Patriots extend their win streak to seven games and improve to 8-4 overall and 6-4 in the PBC, leapfrogging the Bearcats (9-5, 5-4) into 5th place. FMU will conclude its 11-game home stand tomorrow with a doubleheader against Lander. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. Attendance is limited to 250 and that includes only season ticket holders, FMU students with pre-acquired tickets, and family members of players with reserved tickets. No walk-up game-day tickets will be sold.
FMU senior right-handed pitcher
Daniel Twitty (2-0), a Sumter native, went six innings giving up six hits and only one run while striking out five. Junior righty
Cory Poulsen logged his first save of the season with three innings of work. He allowed two hits and fanned three.
Graduate student Marshall Thompson (4-2) took the loss for the Bearcats.
Four Patriots registered multiple hits in the victory with Hardee leading the way at 3-for-5, scoring three runs and driving in two. Hegan went 3-for-4, also recording two RBIs, while junior catcher
Daulton Dabbs (2-for-2) homered and doubled, and second baseman
Tanner Wakefield went 2-for-4, scoring twice and plating one run.
Francis Marion struck first in the bottom of the opening inning. Hardee and Hegan both reached base on balls before a two-out Bearcat throwing error by shortstop Walker McDowell allowed Hardee to score from second. The Patriots added another run in the second. Junior catcher
Mickey Skole reached base after being pegged by Thompson. Senior centerfielder
Bill Hanna advanced Skole to second with a sacrifice bunt, before a two-out RBI-single by Hardee scored Skole from second.
The Bearcats notched their first and only run in the third thanks to a sacrifice fly by first baseman Mike Fitschen, but the Patriots responded adding two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth, before exploding for five in the seventh.
The seventh-inning outburst included designated hitter
Austin Moore plating one run with an RBI single to left field and Dabbs drilling a two-run home run, his first career long ball in a Patriot uniform. The hometown kid, Hardee, plated another run with his second RBI single of the game, while reigning PBC Player of the Week
Todd Mattox hit a hardball to the third basemen, forcing a fielding error that allowed Hardee to score.
With a fourth-inning single, Mattox extended his hitting streak to 11 games and his streak of safely reaching base to 20 games dating back to last season. Hardee and senior first baseman
Darius Nobles lengthened their hitting steaks to eight games each.
The Patriots added one more insurance run in the eighth, thanks to an RBI single by Wakefield.
Each of the first five runs score by FMU came with two outs.
The seven-game winning streak is the longest for the Patriots since the 2017 squad opened with 10 consecutive victories.
For the latest news and updates regarding Francis Marion baseball, follow the Patriots on Twitter at @FMUSports, on Facebook at FMUSports, and Instagram at @FMUSports or check out information online at www.fmupatriots.com.
Francis Marion Univ. 11, Lander University 1 (Mar 13, 2021 at Florence, SC)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lander University... 001 000 000 - 1 8 3 (9-5, 5-4 PBC)
Francis Marion Univ. 110 201 51X - 11 15 1 (8-4, 6-4 PBC)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Lander University - Marshall Thompson; Davis Cunningham(6); Zeke Stephens(7);
Ryan Flores(8) and Tyler Prell; Bradley Davis. Francis Marion Univ. -
Daniel Twitty;
Cory Poulsen(7) and
Mickey Skole;
Daulton Dabbs.
Win-
Daniel Twitty(2-0) Save-
Cory Poulsen(1) Loss-Marshall Thompson(4-2) T-2:56 A-227
HR FMU -
Daulton Dabbs (1).
Weather: Overcast, 72, Winds NNE 10 mph
