GAFFNEY, SC – Junior outfielder Paige Strickland drove in eight runs to power ninth-ranked Francis Marion University to a 14-3 and 9-3 doubleheader sweep of Limestone University, Thursday afternoon (Feb. 27) in non-conference softball play.
 
Francis Marion, winners of 12 straight, improves to 16-2.  The Patriots will face Catawba College for a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Salisbury, N.C.
 
In the opening game, senior outfielder Emily Konz, senior third baseman Peyton Gale, junior designated player Kendal Miller, and Strickland all registered two hits with Strickland diving in six runs.
 
FMU sent 13 batters to the plate in the top of the first and scored seven times.  Senior shortstop Madalyn White manufactured the first run when she led off with a walk, went to second on a wild pitch, stole third, and came home on another wild pitch.  Two batters later, Strickland launched a two-run homer.  Freshman catcher Rylee Gray later clubbed a two-run single and junior left fielder Anderson Thrower hit an RBI-single to left.  Strickland drove in the final run of the frame with a bases-loaded walk.
 
After Limestone scored once in the bottom of the first, Gale hit a solo homer to lead off the top of the second.  Limestone's Faith Callaway hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the second to trim the margin to 8-3.
 
Miller upped the margin to 9-3 with a sacrifice fly in the third.  The Patriots then scored five times in the fourth frame to go up 14-3.  Junior first baseman Tallulah Civoniceva hit a solo homer and then with two outs, Strickland cleared the bases with a 3-run double to left and Miller drilled a run-scoring single to left.
 
Junior left-hander Alyssa Poston, the reigning NCAA Division II National Pitcher of the Week, ran her season mark to 8-1 with four innings of work in the 5-inning contest.  She allowed only four hits and struck out seven.
 
Limestone starter Chelsey Stonesifer (3-1) was the losing pitcher.
 
Trailing 1-0 in the second contest after a first-inning score by the Saints, Francis Marion pushed across seven runs in the top of the fourth.  Gray plated the first run with an RBI-grounder, but on the play an error occurred and two more runs came across.  Later in the frame, White stroked a 2-run single to left and Strickland drilled a two-run double to center with both players extending their hitting streaks to 11 games.
 
The Patriots added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings, including an RBI-double by Civoniceva.
 
Junior righty Jenna Walling pitched the first three innings and allowed one run, while sophomore right-hander Abby Williams (3-0) pitched the final four frames and allowed two runs.  The two combined to limit Limestone to six hits.
 
Gale, Civoniceva, and White all collected two hits in game two.
 
Breanna Clayton (1-3) was tagged with the game-two loss.