MURFREESBORO, NC – Francis Marion University scored 18 unanswered runs and featured a pair of seven-run innings in a dominant 22-6 victory at Chowan University in the opening game of Conference Carolinas baseball action on Friday afternoon (Feb. 13).
The Patriots extended their winning streak to five and improved to 7-1 overall while moving to a 1-0 record in league play. Francis Marion continues its three-game series against the Hawks on Saturday, Feb. 14, with a doubleheader, starting at 11 a.m.
Chowan falls to 0-4 this season and 0-1 in conference play after playing its opening four contests at home.
Redshirt junior first baseman
Charlie Bussey III contributed a 4-for-7 performance with two doubles, two RBIs, and two runs scored. Senior third baseman
Will Dorrell extended his on-base streak to 51 consecutive games after totaling two hits, five RBIs, and three runs scored. Senior right fielder
Riley Orr finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs, three runs scored, and two stolen bases.
On the mound, junior right-handed pitcher
Jafet Martinez Delgado collected the win (1-0) after tossing 2.2 scoreless innings of relief with only four hits allowed and three strikeouts. Fellow junior righty
Mason Huffstickler pitched a scoreless sixth inning. Sophomore southpaw
Jackson Madden secured his second save after yielding one run on zero hits with nine strikeouts in 3.0 innings pitched.
Chowan established a quick 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first following a three-run homer before adding another run on a groundout RBI in the second frame, 4-0.
In the top of the third, the Patriots got on the board after Dorrell blasted a two-run shot to right field, his second of the season. FMU drove in another run to cut the deficit to 4-3 following a dropped flyball in right field. The Hawks answered in the bottom half of the third with two runs to regain a three-run advantage, 6-3.
Francis Marion grabbed the lead in the top of the fourth with a four-run frame, highlighted by a two-run single to left center by Orr, 7-6. The Patriots would break the game open in the fifth after bringing across seven runs as freshman shortstop
Logan Davis laced a two-run single to left before Dorrell registered two RBIs off a double.
With Francis Marion leading 14-6, the Patriots padded their lead with seven additional runs to hold a 21-6 advantage. FMU batted around the lineup with Bussey III tallying two doubles while freshman outfielder
Evan Matile delivered an RBI single to left field.
In the ninth, redshirt junior
Zach Doorlag drove in another run for Francis Marion after hitting an RBI single through the left side, 22-6. Chowan scored the final run of the contest in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch, but Francis Marion ultimately sealed the Game 1 win.
