GREENWOOD, SC – A two-out, two-run double off the right centerfield wall by senior Will Hardee snapped a 4-4 deadlock and right-handed pitcher Reece Kleinhelter escaped a bases-loaded no-out jam in the bottom of the seventh to allow Francis Marion University to escape with an 8-5 victory over Queens University of Charlotte on Friday afternoon (Feb. 11).
 
The contest was played at Lander University's Dolny Stadium.  The Patriots (4-0) quickly returned to the same field to play North Greenville University later on Friday afternoon.
 
The 4-0 start is the best for Francis Marion since the 2017 squad opened 10-0.
 
FMU sophomore righty Connor Kirkley (2-0) picked up the win with two innings of work.  He relieved starter Halton Hardy, who went four innings, giving up three runs, all of them earned, on four hits, allowing one walk and striking out four.
 
Kleinhelter escaped the seventh-inning jam without allowing a run and FMU up 8-5, and then stranded two more runners in the bottom of the eighth.  Junior right-hander Ben Thornton tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his first save.
 
Hardee finished 2-for-5 with three runs batted in, while junior shortstop Naphis Llanos also collected two hits and scored twice.  Fifth-year senior third baseman Todd Mattox went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 16 games and his consecutive games reaching base safely streak to 47 contests.  The latter streak dates back to the 2020 season.
 
Trailing 1-0, the Patriots tied the score in the top of the third on an RBI-double by junior left fielder Jack Hegan.  The Royals answered with two runs in the last of third, but graduate student first baseman Darius Nobles again knotted the score (3-3) with a two-run homer to center in the fourth.
 
That 3-3 tie turned into a 4-3 Francis Marion lead in the fifth when Hardee plated fifth-year senior center fielder Bill Hanna with a single to center.  The Royals tied the game at 4-4 with a run in the last of the fifth before Hardee's go-ahead double in the sixth.
 
The Patriots added two insurance runs in the seventh as Mattox scored on a wild pitch and Hanna walked with the bases loaded.
 
Queens's reliever Tanner Jacobson (0-2) was tagged with loss.  Riley Cheek and Carter Foster slugged solo home runs for the Royals (3-2).
 
 
Francis Marion 8, Queens (N.C.) 5 (2/11/2022 at Greenwood, S.C.)
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Francis Marion...... 001 212 200  -  8  9  4      (4-0)
Queens (N.C.)....... 102 011 000  -  5 10  3      (3-2, 0-0)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion - Halton Hardy; Connor Kirkley(5); Reece Kleinhelter(7);
Ben Thornton(9) and Isaac Schuck. Queens (N.C.) - J. Maidhof; T. Jacobson(6); J. Briones(7); B. Efird(8) and Christian Maggio.
Win-Connor Kirkley (2-0)  Save-Ben Thornton (1)  Loss-Tanner Jacobson (0-2)  T-2:57  A-275
HR FMU - Darius Nobles; HR QUEENS - Riley Cheek; Carter Foster.
Weather: 60, sunny
 
GAME NOTES
Francis Marion's highest scoring inning was the seventh, when it pushed two runs across.
Francis Marion pitchers faced 43 Queens (NC) hitters in the game, allowing 10 ground balls and 11 fly balls while striking out six.
The Patriots drew six walks from Queens (NC) pitching.
Nobles led the Patriots at the plate, going 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs.
Queens (NC) was led offensively by Carter Foster, who went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and an RBI.
Blake Efird led the Royals pitching staff, throwing two shutout innings.