FLORENCE, SC – Trailing 10-2 with six innings to play, Francis Marion University scored in every remaining frame but came up just short in a 10-9 loss to Columbus State University, Sunday afternoon (April 18) in Peach Belt Conference baseball action.
 
Francis Marion drops to 15-16 overall and 13-16 in PBC play, while the Cougars – ranked ninth in the Division II Southeast Region – improve to 21-10 and 16-10.
 
FMU will entertain Georgia College for a single game on Tuesday at 4 p.m., the final home contest of the 2021 schedule.  Prior to the game, the Patriots will recognize nine seniors.
 
Attendance on Tuesday is limited to 250 fans consisting of Patriot season ticket holders, FMU students, and family members of the players.  No walk-up game-day tickets sales will be available.  Masks are required and social distancing will be observed.
 
Senior center fielder Bill Hanna and junior right fielder Will Hardee both finished with three hits, while junior second baseman Tanner Wakefield, senior third baseman Todd Mattox, and sophomore shortstop Jack Hegan each had two hits as the Patriots outhit CSU 13-11.
 
FMU senior right-hander Daniel Twitty (3-1) absorbed the loss, while CSU righty starter Jake Hershman (3-0) earned the win.
 
Francis Marion scored twice in the opening frame to jump ahead.  Hanna led off with a single and scampered home on an RBI double just inside the third base bag by Wakefield.  Wakefield moved to third on a groundout and came home on a sacrifice fly by Mattox.
 
Columbus State scored four unearned runs in the top of the third, ending the day for Twitty.  First baseman Steven Minter registered the big hit, a three-run homer down the left field line.  Minter ended the game 2-for-4 with six runs batted in, and was 9-for-14 in the series with 10 RBIs.
 
The Cougars added six runs in the fourth to take a commanding 10-2 advantage.  The outburst included a solo homer by Matthew McDade and a second 3-run shot by Minter.
 
From that point on, Patriot relievers Bailey Wendel and Cory Poulsen shut the door on the Cougar offense.  Poulsen escaped a bases-loaded no-out situation in the top of the eighth by inducing a line-drive double-play ball and a grounder back to the mound.
 
The zeros on the scoreboard gave FMU a chance to rally. A run-scoring double to the right center field gap by Hegan plated a run in the fourth.  Mattox laced a single to left to plate Hanna in the fifth.
 
Sophomore first baseman Harrison Bigham walked with one out in the Patriot sixth, went to third on a second double by Hegan, and scored on an RBI-ground out by sophomore left fielder Carson Jones to bring FMU to within 10-5.
 
In the seventh, Hardee drilled a two-homer over the right field wall to trim the margin to 10-7.  Bigham walked to lead off the eighth and then took second on a passed ball. After the next two batters were retired, Hanna singled back up the middle.  The throw home to get Bigham was up the third-base line resulting in a collision between runner and catcher, with Bigham eventually touching home safely and Hanna ending up on third.  However, Hanna was stranded there, but Francis Marion now trailed by only 10-8.
 
In the ninth, Hardee led off with a double down the right field line.  Mattox followed with a run-scoring single back up the middle and the Patriots were within a run with no outs.  Senior designated hitter Darius Nobles brought the Sparrow Stadium crowd to its feet with a fly ball that was caught just shy of the warning track in left center and then CSU reliever Zack Brockman recorded a pop out and a strikeout to end the contest and record his first save of 2021.
 
Mattox's fifth-inning base hit extended his streak of safely reaching base to 39 games.  He finished the series 8-for-12 with seven RBIs, while both Hanna and Hardee were also 8-for-12.
 

 
Columbus State Univ. 10, Francis Marion Univ. 9 (Apr 18, 2021 at Florence, SC)
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Columbus State Univ. 004 600 000  - 10 11  0      (21-10, 16-10 PBC)
Francis Marion Univ. 200 111 211  -  9 13  2      (15-16, 13-16 PBC)
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Pitchers: Columbus State Univ. - Jake Hershman; Dalton Bradford(6); Miles Dutton(6);
Noah Windhorst(8); Brady Kais(9); Zack Brockman(9) and Robert Brooks. Francis Marion Univ. -
Daniel Twitty; Chas DeBruhl(3); Bailey Wendel(4); Cory Poulsen(8) and Trystan Freeman.
Win-Jake Hershman(3-0)  Save-Zack Brockman(1)  Loss-Daniel Twitty(3-1)  T-3:00  A-122
HR CSU - Steven Minter 2 (10); Matthew McDade (2).
HR FMU - Will Hardee (5).
Weather: Sunny,71,Winds N@5mph
Wendel faced 2 batters in the 8th.