FLORENCE, S.C. – Francis Marion University rattled off six runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead en route to a 12-7 weather-shortened win over Newberry College, Sunday (Feb. 5) afternoon in non-conference baseball action.
Francis Marion (1-2) will return to Sparrow Stadium at the Griffin Athletic Complex on Tuesday (Feb. 7) to host Claflin University at 3 p.m.
Senior outfielder
Will Hardee went 2-for-3 and tallied three runs, while senior outfielder
Tanner Wakefield also was 2-of-3 with two runs scored and three runs batted in. Junior outfielder
Zack Summerville had two hits, two runs, and two RBIs, while sophomore first baseman
Tyler Reynolds drove in three runs.
FMU junior southpaw
Chas DeBruhl (1-0) earned his first win of the season, pitching five innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs, and fanning three. Rylan Brown (0-1) takes the loss for the Wolves, allowing four runs in 4.1 innings.
Jacob LeBron scored the first run of the game for the Wolves (2-1) in the top of the first inning off an error, but FMU quickly leveled the score on the other side of the inning thanks to Hardee. He led off with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Summerville.
The Wolves recorded back-to-back sac flies to take a 3-1 lead in the top of the second, with Francis Marion responding with one run of its own as freshman third baseman
Charlie Bussey III scoring on a sacrifice fly by senior second baseman
Naphis Llanos.
The bats heated up in the bottom of the fifth for FMU. With the bases loaded, Wakefield was hit by a pitch to knot the score at 3-3. Summerville followed with a 2-run single, then designated hitter
Alex Elliott rapped out a run-scoring single, and Reynolds ended the scoring with a 2-run single to make it an 8-3 Patriots' lead.
After holding the Wolves scoreless in the top of the sixth, the Patriots continued to connect on pitches, as Wakefield (2), Bussey III, and Reynolds all recorded RBIs to extend the advantage to 12-3.
The Wolves found urgency in the top of the seventh, responding with three runs to cut the deficit in half, 12-6.
Newberry continued to chip away at the lead as a bases-loaded walk trimmed the margin to 12-7 in the eighth. However, in the bottom of the frame, the game was called and made official due to increasing visibility concerns with the misty fog.
Francis Marion Univ. 12, Newberry College 7 (Feb 05, 2023 at Florence, SC)
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Newberry College.... 120 000 31 - 7 4 0 (2-1)
Francis Marion Univ. 110 064 00 - 12 14 2 (1-2)
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Pitchers: Newberry College - Rylan Brown; John Allen Forrester(5); Wesley Livingston(5);
Trevor Linaman(6); Johnathan White(6); Colm O'Shea(6); Brad Brooks(8) and Rhett Jolly.
Francis Marion Univ. -
Chas DeBruhl;
Luke Allain(6);
Jack Hegan(6);
Cory Poulsen(8);
Ben Thornton(8) and
Isaac Schuck.
Win-
Chas DeBruhl (1-0) Loss-Rylan Brown (0-1) T-3:15 A-240
Weather: 47 degrees, 3mph winds S
J. Forrester faced 4 batters in the 5th.
T. Linaman faced 2 batters in the 6th.
Hegan faced 1 batter in the 8th.
B. Brooks faced 1 batter in the 8th.
