FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end as the Patriots dropped both ends of their Peach Belt Conference doubleheader with Lander University, losing 11-3 and 10-3 on Sunday (March 14) in collegiate baseball action.
 
Francis Marion (8-6, 6-6) will travel to Augusta University on Friday and Saturday for a 3-game PBC series beginning with a single contest on Friday at 2 p.m.  The next home date for FMU will be March 26-27 against USC Aiken.
 
In Sunday's opener, the Patriots took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame on an RBI-single through the right side by senior Darius Nobles.  The first baseman went 4-for-4 in the first game, but then saw his 9-game hitting streak end in game two.
 
That lead held until the fifth when a throwing error led to a pair of unearned Bearcat tallies.  Lander (11-5, 7-4) then plated six runs on seven hits in the sixth to open an 8-1 advantage.  Nobles blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame to trim the deficit to 8-3, but the Bearcats added three insurance runs in the top of the ninth.
 
FMU senior southpaw Weston Rogers (2-2) was tagged with the hard-luck loss.  Lander righty Justin Walker (2-0) captured the win with five innings of work.
 
Freshman second baseman Ethan Wilder, in only his second start of 2021, led Lander with four hits, two runs scored, and one driven in during the opener.
 
FMU senior third baseman Todd Mattox saw his 11-game hitting streak stopped in Sunday's first game, but he did end the day having extended his streak of safely reaching base to 22 games.
 
The conference's top hitting team with a .360 average, FMU did register nine hits in game one, but four double plays turned by the Bearcats help limited the FMU offence.
 
In the second contest, FMU scored in the bottom of the first – as the Patriots did in all three games of the series – on a solo homer to left field by sophomore shortstop Jack Hegan. The margin doubled in the third when junior right fielder Will Hardee homered over the right field wall.  That hit extended the Evergreen native's hitting streak to 10 games.
 
Lander scored four times in the fourth knocking Francis Marion starter Bailey Wendel (1-2) from the game. The Patriots drew to with 4-3 in the bottom of frame when junior outfielder Brett Kemp singled home Mattox.
 
However, the Bearcats answered with three runs in the fifth, one in the seventh, and two in the eighth while holding the Patriots scoreless the remainder of the game.
 
Francis Marion graduate student Christian Umphlett, a right-handed relief pitcher, entered the game in the fourth inning and worked three frames.  By doing so, he set the FMU career mark for most pitching appearance with 73, bettering the old mark of 72 set by Jeffrey Stoner between 2011 and 2014.
 
FMU senior center field Bill Hanna had a hit in both games of the twinbill, as did Kemp, Hardee, and Hegan.
 
First baseman Mike Fitschen and third baseman Mason Streater each rapped out four hits for Lander in game two, while Bearcat starter Carson Schlegel (3-0) went six innings and earned the victory.

 
 
Lander University 11, Francis Marion 3 (Mar 14, 2021 at Florence, SC) (Game 1)
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Lander University... 000 026 003  - 11 13  0      (10-5, 6-4 PBC)
Francis Marion Univ. 100 002 000  -  3  9  7      (8-5, 5-5 PBC)
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Pitchers: Lander University - Justin Walker; Davis Agle (6); Byrce Jackson (9) and Bradley Davis. Francis Marion Univ. - Weston Rogers; Cory Poulsen (6); Halton Hardy (6); Ethan Meece (9) and Daulton Dabbs.
Win-Justin Walker (2-0)  Loss-Weston Rogers (2-2)  T-3:02  A-171
HR FMU - Darius Nobles (1).
Weather: Overcast, 66, Winds Calm
Rogers faced 4 batters in the 6th.
Poulsen faced 2 batters in the 6th.
J. Walker faced 3 batters in the 6th.
 
 
Lander University 10, Francis Marion 3 (Mar 14, 2021 at Florence, SC) (Game 2)
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Lander University... 000 430 120  - 10 15  1      (11-5, 7-4 PBC)
Francis Marion Univ. 101 100 000  -  3  5  0      (8-6, 6-6 PBC)
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Pitchers: Lander University - Carson Schlegel; Jack Fox (7); Praise Thorsen (9) and Bradley Davis. Francis Marion Univ. - Bailey Wendel; Christian Umphlett (4); Tyler Davis (7); Will Wicker (8); Chad Wallen (8); Joshua Collins (9) and Mickey Skole.
Win-Carson Schlegel (3-0)  Loss-Bailey Wendel (1-2)  T-2:49
HR FMU - Will Hardee (3); Jack Hegan (1).
Weather: Overcast, 72, Winds WNW 6 mph