GREENWOOD, SC – Sophomore right-hander
Jenna Walling allowed only one earned run in six innings and Francis Marion University scored a dozen times to claim a 12-3 road win over Lander University and a split of Tuesday's (March 19) non-conference doubleheader. The Bearcats won the opener 5-1.
Francis Marion (25-8) will host a pair of key Conference Carolinas doubleheaders this weekend: Saturday at 1 p.m. against Emmanuel University (Ga.) and Sunday at 1 p.m. against Young Harris College. Daily admission to the Griffin Athletic Complex is $10 for adults and $5 for students with FMU students being admitted free with ID.
Walling (10-2) surrendered only seven hits in the game-two win, while striking out four.
The first three batters in the Patriot line-up – sophomore shortstop
Madalyn White, junior leftfielder
Emily Konz, and senior first baseman
Taylor Watford – all had two hits in the second contest. The trio also combined to drive in four runs.
RBI-singles by White and Kunz helped stake FMU to a 3-0 lead in the second. A run-scoring single by senior right fielder
Katie Smith and a sacrifice fly by sophomore centerfielder
Mikaela Goss extended the margin to 5-1 in the third inning.
Lander (20-7) closed to within 5-3 after four frames, but the Patriots scored four times in the fifth and three times in the sixth to invoke the eight-run mercy rule.
Watford delievered a two-run single in the fifth, followed by a bases-loaded walks to sophomore designated player
Emma Moberg and Smith.
Smith drove in her third run when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded as part of the sixth-inning outburst.
In Tuesday's opening game, FMU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Konz singled with one out, moved to second on a fielder's choice grounder, and scored on an RBI-double to center field by junior third baseman
Peyton Gale.
The Patriots would manage only two more hits off Lander graduate student Bailey Pattison (10-2). Konz finished game one 2-for-3.
FMU sophomore left-hander
Alyssa Poston (14-3) allowed only five hits, but one of those was a fourth-inning grand slam by right fielder Emily Allen that snapped a 1-1 deadlock. That hit also stopped a streak of 22.1 innings in which Poston did not allow an earned run.
Lander 5, Francis Marion 1 (3/19/2024 at Greenwood, S.C.) (Game 1)
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Francis Marion...... 100 000 0 - 1 4 1 (24-8)
Lander……............. 000 500 X - 5 5 0 (20-6)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion -
Alyssa Poston and
Lauren Smallwood.
Lander - Bailey Pattison and Gracie Derrick.
Win-Bailey Pattison (10-2) Loss-
Alyssa Poston (14-3) T-1:47
HR LANDER - Emily Allen.
Francis Marion 12, Lander 3 (3/19/2024 at Greenwood, S.C.) (Game 2)
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Francis Marion...... 032 043 - 12 9 2 (25-8)
Lander................... 011 100 - 3 7 3 (20-7)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion -
Jenna Walling and
Lauren Smallwood and
Marlee McCormick.
Lander - Taylor Scott; K. Akins(5); A. Grimes(5); M. Geddings (6) and Kenley Powell.
Win-
Jenna Walling (10-2) Loss-Taylor Scott (8-4) T-2:28 A-101
Weather: Still too windy
