Box Score FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University scored eight runs before an out was recorded, part of an 11-run first frame, and the 18th-ranked Francis Marion University cruised past UNC Pembroke 18-11, Friday evening (Apr. 11) in Conference Carolinas baseball action.
Francis Marion ups its overall record to 32-9 with its 13th consecutive win – the second-longest streak in program history. FMU also retains sole possession of first place in the conference standings with a 19-6 mark. The two squads will conclude their weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. at CarolinaBank Field in the Florence Sports Complex.
The weekend series also pitted first-year FMU head coach
Jeff Jefferson against a UNCP squad for which he previously served as an assistant coach.
Every Patriot position starter registered at least one hit. Senior second baseman
Owen Taylor and senior shortstop
Rayth Petersen led the way with four hits apiece. Sophomore first baseman
Charlie Bussey III, senior left fielder
Caleb Oakley, senior right fielder
Austin Bunn, and junior catcher
Dariel Villaran Goundis each tallied two hits.
Petersen, Villaran Goundis, and junior center fielder
Will Dorrell all drove in three runs each.
After the first three batters of the game reached on two singles and walk to load the bases, the first-inning explosion included an RBI-walk to Dorrell, a two-run single to center by Oakley, an RBI-single off the right field wall by senior designated hitter
Noah Stout, and a two-run double off the left field wall by Bunn. The game was then interrupted by an hour and 50-minute rain delay.
On the first pitch when play resumed, Villaran Goundis cranked a towering drive over the left field wall for a two-run homer and an 8-0 advantage. Following the initial out of the game, FMU plated three more runs on a run-scoring single to left center by Petersen and a two-run double to left center by Dorrell.
UNCP scored three times in the bottom of the first aided by a pair of FMU errors, but the Patriots responded with two runs in the top of the second to restore the double-digit margin (13-3). Taylor drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly – extending the FMU nation-leading total in that category to 34 – and Petersen drilled a two-out RBI-single up the middle.
The Braves tallied two runs in the third, but again FMU answered in the next half inning on a run-scoring single to right center by Taylor to make the lead 14-5.
UNCP catcher Jake Bradley hit a two-run homer in the fourth to cut the deficit to 14-7. However, in the top of the fifth, a trio of two-out walks preceded a two-run single by Bussey III and an RBI-single by Petersen.
Villaran Goundis extended the FMU lead to 18-7 with a run-scoring single through the left side in the top of the sixth.
FMU senior right-hander
Danny Leo pitched the final five innings, scattering five hits and allowing four runs with nine strikeouts to earn his fourth win in as many decisions this season.
UNCP right-hander Spencer Ledford (2-2) was the losing pitcher.
#18 Francis Marion Univ. 18, UNC Pembroke 9 (Apr 11, 2025 at Florence, SC)
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Francis Marion Univ. (11)20 131 000 - 18 19 3 (32-9, 19-6 CC)
UNC Pembroke……. 302 200 022 - 11 13 1 (21-18, 9-13 CC)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion Univ. -
Braxton Elms IV;
Sam Duvall (3);
Danny Leo (5) and
Dariel Villaran Goundis. UNCP-Spencer Ledford; Taylor Harris (1); Tyler Strickland (2); Sean Smith (5); CW Bayer (8); Harrison Holbrook (9) and Jake Bradley; Ashton Donathan (7).
Win-
Danny Leo (4-0) Loss-Ledford (2-2) T-4:00 A-102
HR FMU –
Dariel Villaran Goundis (1); UNCP Jake Bradley (8), Ashton Donathan (1).
Weather: Cloudy, threatening, 71 degrees
