HICKORY, NC – The Francis Marion University softball team celebrated its first Top-10 national ranking in 16 seasons by sweeping a road doubleheader from 19th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University, winning 8-0 and 7-1 on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 18).  Junior first baseman Tallulah Civoniceva homered and drove in five runs and junior right fielder Paige Strickland homered and scored three times to pace the Patriots.
 
Francis Marion (10-2) learned at noon on Tuesday that it had moved up three slots to ninth in the latest NFCA/GoRout Division II Top 25 poll.  The Patriots will host the Swamp Sizzler event on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 22-23) with three games each day.  FMU will play at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day.  Admission on Saturday is free as the university celebrates Homecoming 2025.
 
In Tuesday's opener, the Patriots grabbed an early 3-0 advantage in the second inning as junior second baseman Rylie Webster plated Strickland with an RBI-groundout and junior center fielder Mikaela Goss followed with a two-out, two-run homer over the center field fence.
 
Webster walked to lead off the fourth and later came around to score on a run-scoring single through the right side by senior left fielder Emily Konz as FMU went up 4-0.
 
Francis Marion added four insurance runs in the seventh as senior third baseman Peyton Gale blasted her team-leading fourth home run, a two-run shot to center, and several batters later, Civoniceva hit a two-run shot to left.
 
Junior southpaw Alyssa Poston (5-1) silenced the LRU offense on three singles through her six innings, while striking out five and not walking anyone.  Freshman righty Aliyah Gibson pitched a perfect 1-2-3 seventh frame with two strikeouts.
 
Strickland led FMU at the plate with three hits, while Goss was on base three times with her homer and two walks.
 
In the second contest, Civoniceva registered a run-scoring single in the top of the first for an early 1-0 advantage.  The Bears answered with a run in the bottom of the first frame to knot the score.
 
A solo homer by Strickland leading off the second put the Patriots ahead to stay.  FMU added a single run in the third inning before exploding for four runs in the top of the fourth.
 
Civoniceva finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while both Konz and junior shortstop Madalyn White had two hits and an RBI.
 
Junior right-hander Jenna Walling (5-1), the reigning Conference Carolinas Pitcher of the Week, pitched a four-hitter with three strikeouts.
 
LRU starter Madison Wilson (1-2) was the losing pitcher in game one, while junior Faith Carrigan (2-3) was tagged with the loss in the second contest.