FLORENCE, SC – Senior shortstop
Rayth Petersen tripled in two runs and six Francis Marion University pitchers combined to strike out a school-record 18 batters as the Patriots claimed an 8-1 victory over the University of Bridgeport, Tuesday evening (Mar. 3) in non-conference baseball action.
Francis Marion, which is among the other teams receiving votes in this week's ACBA Top 30 poll, improves to 14-6. The Patriots will return to Conference Carolinas action this weekend by hosting King University (Tenn.) for a three-game series. Forecasted rain on Sunday has slightly altered the schedule. The two teams will now play a single game on Friday at 6 p.m. and a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Senior right-hander
Braxton Elms IV (3-0), the second of six Patriot hurlers, struck out six of the eight batters he faced to remain perfect on the season. Each of the six pitchers (
Jackson Campbell 2, Elms IV 6,
Mike Monduy 3,
Nick Boswell 2,
Tripp Triplett 3,
Sam Duvall 2) struck out at least two batters to eclipse the old mark of 17 accomplished twice before, at USC Aiken in 2013 and against Newberry College in 1974.
Senior second baseman
Owen Taylor and senior right fielder
Austin Bunn both had two hits with a run batted in.
Senior left fielder
Caleb Oakley manufactured the first run of the game for FMU in the bottom of the first. He was hit by a pitch, took second on a wild pitch, stole third base, and came home on an RBI-groundout by sophomore first baseman
Charlie Bussey III. Oakley extended his streak of safely reaching base to 22 games dating back to last season. He also tied the Patriot single-game record by being hit three times, equaling a painful mark set by Marquis Curry against GRU Augusta in 2014..
Both teams left the bases loaded in the second, but the score remained 1-0.
A lead-off walk to Bussey, a dropped fly ball, and a misplayed grounder loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the third. Bunn plated the Patriots' second run with a sacrifice fly, and pinch hitter
Jake Hardee followed with a run-scoring grounder that upped the margin 3-0. Taylor recorded the only hit of the frame, an RBI-double to left center, as FMU assumed a 4-0 lead.
The two-run triple to deep center field by Petersen and a run-scoring groundout by junior center fielder
Will Dorrell padded the FMU advantage to 7-0 in the fourth.
Bridgeport (2-7) plated its lone run, albeit an unearned tally, in the fifth on an infield RBI-single by first baseman Jeremy Rodrigues. Rodrigues finished the night 2-for-4.
Dorrell got that run back with a run-scoring single in the sixth.
Junior southpaw Matt Wild (0-1) started for the Purple Knights and took the loss after surrendering four runs in 2.2 innings.
Francis Marion Univ. 8, Univ. of Bridgeport 1 (Mar 04, 2025 at Florence, SC)
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Univ. of Bridgeport. 000 010 000 - 1 3 4 (2-7)
Francis Marion Univ. 103 301 00X - 8 7 2 (14-6)
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Pitchers: Univ. of Bridgeport - Matt Wild; Luke Russo(3); Zach Ridgeway(7) and Nico Salmeri; Jay Hamilton. Francis Marion Univ. -
Jackson Campbell;
Braxton Elms IV(2);
Mike Monduy(5);
Nick Boswell(6);
Tripp Triplett(8);
Sam Duvall(9) and D. Villaran Goundis.
Win-
Braxton Elms IV (3-0) Loss-Matt Wild (0-1) T-2:48 A-176
Weather: 68, Cloudy, winds 14 mph SSE
