MOUNT OLIVE, NC – Junior right fielder
Paige Strickland homered and drove in four runs and junior second baseman
Rylie Webster homered twice and drove in three as fourth-ranked Francis Marion University swept a doubleheader from the University of Mount Olive, winning 4-0 and 9-2 on Saturday afternoon (April 5) in Conference Carolinas softball action.
FMU has won 14 games in a row and improves to 35-3 overall and 15-1 in conference play. The Patriots will host Chowan University for a twinbill on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
In Saturday's opening game, Strickland blasted a two-run homer in the top of the first inning and that was all junior left-handed pitcher
Alyssa Poston (19-1) would need. Poston tossed a three-hitter and struck out six.
Strickland added a run-scoring single in the third inning and senior pinch-hitter
Samantha Turnage accounted for the final tally with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly.
Senior outfielder
Emily Konz led FMU with three hits, while junior outfielder
Anderson Thrower and Strickland both had two hits.
Freshman righty Linda Hodge (12-7) took the loss for Mount Olive.
In game two, junior right-hander
Jenna Walling won for the 12th time in 13 decisions this season. She surrendered only five hits, while fanning seven. Walling is now fourth on the Patriots' career wins list with 49, while Poston is sixth with 47 victories.
In the second inning, Francis Marion took advantage of a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt to score the opening run on a sacrifice fly by freshman catcher Ryle Gray. Later in the frame after a second error, junior shortstop
Madalyn White lined a two-run single through the right side for a 3-0 advantage.
Webster led off the fourth inning with a towering solo homer to left center to up the margin to 4-0. The following batter was White, and she singled, stole second, stole third, and came home on an RBI-single up the middle by Strickland.
The Trojans scored twice in the bottom of the fourth, but the inning ended with a runner being thrown out at home plate trying to score.
Thrower scored Konz with a sacrifice safety squeeze bunt in the sixth as the Patriots assumed a 6-2 lead.
Webster cranked her second homer, a two-run shot to left center, in the seventh and FMU scored its final run on a throwing error.
White and Strickland both registered three hits in the second contest, while Webster and freshman
Reese Miller had two knocks apiece.
Hailey King (8-6) was the losing pitcher.
Strickland extended her hitting streak to 13 games. Her homer was her 10th of the season and she continues to rank among the national leaders in RBIs, now with 55 – the fourth highest season total in program history.
#4 Francis Marion 4, Mount Olive 0 (Apr 05, 2025 at Mount Olive, NC) (Game 1)
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Francis Marion...... 201 001 0 - 4 10 0 (34-3, 14-1 CC)
Mount Olive......... 000 000 0 - 0 3 0 (23-16, 13-6 CC)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion -
Alyssa Poston and
Rylee Gray. Mount Olive - Linda Hodge and Brittany Stephens.
Win-
Alyssa Poston(19-1) Loss-Linda Hodge(12-7) T-1:37 A-103
HR FMU_SB -
Paige Strickland (10).
Weather: Partly Cloudy,81,Wind NE@14mph
#4 Francis Marion 9, Mount Olive 2 (Apr 05, 2025 at Mount Olive, NC) (Game 2)
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Francis Marion...... 030 201 3 - 9 13 1 (35-3, 15-1 CC)
Mount Olive......... 000 200 0 - 2 5 3 (23-17, 13-7 CC)
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Pitchers: Francis Marion -
Jenna Walling and
Rylee Gray;
Marlee McCormick. Mount Olive - Hailey King and Laci Best.
Win-
Jenna Walling(12-1) Loss-Hailey King(8-6) T-2:04 A-0
HR FMU_SB -
Rylie Webster 2 (5).
Weather: Partly Cloudy,84,Wind N@12mph
