Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BELMONT, NC – Junior left-handed pitcher Alyssa Poston tossed a game-one no-hitter and junior right fielder Paige Strickland homered in both games as fourth-ranked Francis Marion University swept a Conference Carolinas softball doubleheader from Belmont Abbey College on Saturday (March 29) afternoon, winning 8-0 and 2-1.
 
Francis Marion, winners of 12 straight and 29 of 30, ups its overall record to 33-3 and its conference mark to 13-1.  The Patriots will play a Conference Carolinas doubleheader at the University of Mount Olive on Saturday (April 5) at 1 p.m.
 
In Saturday's first game, Poston (18-1) limited Belmont Abbey to three base runners (two walks and one error) in the five-inning contest.  She struck out six and needed only 70 pitches to record her third no-hitter as a Patriot.
 
Senior outfielder Emily Konz, junior shortstop Madalyn White, junior outfielder Paige Strickland, and junior second baseman Rylie Webster all went 2-for-3.
 
Francis Marion took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, thanks to a sacrifice fly by senior third baseman Peyton Gale.  The margin grew to 3-0 in the third as Konz drove in a run with a bunt single and junior designated player Kendal Miller registered an RBI-groundout.
 
In the fourth frame, junior first baseman Tallulah Civoniceva drilled a run-scoring single down the left-field line and Webster followed with a two-run homer to left center – her third home run in the past seven games after not hitting one in her first 22 games of the season.
 
Strickland accounted for the final runs with a two-run homer to center field in the top of the fifth.
 
Belmont Abbey senior right-hander McKenna Meadors (5-3) was tagged with the loss.
 
In the second game, junior righty Jenna Walling (11-1) threw a two-hitter with two strikeouts.  The only run she allowed was an unearned tally in the third inning.  She also helped her own cause with a stellar defensive play in the sixth inning.  She knocked down a hard come-backer to the circle, chased the ball down, and flipped it to first with her glove for the out.
 
The Patriots took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.  White led off with a single, moved to third on an error, and scored as the Crusaders turned a double play.
 
After Belmont Abbey (16-18, 3-9) tied the game in the third, the contest remained knotted until the top of the seventh when Strickland belted a one-out solo homer over the left field fence to put FMU up 2-1.
 
Despite allowing a one-out base hit in the bottom of the inning, Walling retired the next two batters to end the game.
 
Francis Marion was held to only four hits – two by Strickland, White's lead-off single and a double by Gale – by freshman right-hander Lilly Hartsell (8-8).  Strickland extended her hitting streak to 11 games.  She also entered the game ranked third in NCAA Division II in RBIs and now has 51, equaling the sixth highest season total in program history.
 
Konz had her 19-game hitting streak ended in game two as was her streak of safely reaching base at 20 contests.
 
 
#4 Francis Marion 8, Belmont Abbey 0 (3/29/2025 at Belmont, N.C.) (Game 1)
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Francis Marion...... 012 32 -  8 10  1      (32-3, 12-1)
Belmont Abbey....... 000 00 -  0  0  4      (16-17, 3-8)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion - Alyssa Poston and Rylee Gray, Marlee McCormick (7). Belmont Abbey - McKenna Meadors; Erin Gill(4) and Sadler Gwynn.
Win-Alyssa Poston (18-1)  Loss-McKenna Meadors (5-3)  T-1:18  A-177
HR FMU_SB - Paige Strickland; Rylie Webster.
Weather: 73, partly cloudy, SW 10-20 mph
 
#4 Francis Marion Univ. 2, Belmont Abbey College 1 (Mar 28, 2025 at Belmont, NC) (Game 2)
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Francis Marion Univ. ….   100 000 1  -  2  4  1   (33-3, 13-1)
Belmont Abbey College... 001 000 0  -  1  2  1   (16-18, 3-9)
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Pitchers:  Francis Marion Univ. - Jenna Walling and Rylee Gray, Marlee McCormick (7).
BAC – Lilly Hartsell and Sami Kirk.
Win-Jenna Walling (11-1)  Loss-Lilly Hartsell (8-8)  T-1:51
HR FMU_SB - Paige Strickland (9).
Weather: 73, partly cloudy, SW 10-20 mph