FLORENCE, SC – Senior third baseman
Will Dorrell laid down a squeeze bunt single to score freshman shortstop
Logan Davis in the bottom of the 10th inning and give 23rd-ranked Francis Marion University a wild 11-10 victory over 19th-ranked Lander University, Tuesday evening (Feb. 17) in a key non-conference baseball contest.
Francis Marion picks up its eighth straight win and 20th consecutive home victory and moves to 10-1, the team's best start since 2017. FMU will return to Conference Carolinas play this weekend with a three-game series against Shorter University. The series will consist of a single game on Friday at 4 p.m. and a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Sophomore right-hander
Tyler Skeen (1-0) earned the win by getting the final out in the top of tenth. He was the final of five FMU hurlers. FMU freshman righty
Owen Powell, this week's Conference Carolinas pitcher of the week, overcame a shaky start to go 5.1 innings with four strikeouts and earned a no decision. Two of the five runs he surrendered were unearned.
Senior right fielder
Riley Orr led the Patriots with three hits, including a pair of doubles, and he drove in two runs. Three Patriots had two hits apiece: junior first baseman
Charlie Bussey III, Dorrell, and Davis. Bussey III also walked and scored three times. Bussey III and Orr entered the contest with season batting averages of .512 and .500 respectively, while Bussey III also leads NCAA Division II in runs scored.
In the 10th inning, Lander received a two-out, bases-loaded, RBI-single from left fielder Lowndes Still to regain the lead 11-10. In the bottom of the frame, Buchan walked for the fourth time to lead off, and he was replaced by pinch runner
Brandon Vargas. After a flyout, Davis hit a seeing-eye single through the right side putting runners on the corners with one out. Vargas scored the tying run on the tail-end of a double steal, and Davis went to third when the ball was thrown away. Dorrell then bunted the second pitch he saw from Bearcat reliever Evan Demurias (0-1) in front of the plate as Davis sped across the plate to end the four-hour marathon.
Lander took a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first on a long home run to left field by first baseman Pip Smalley. FMU answered with a manufactured run in the bottom of the frame. Bussey III walked, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and came home on an RBI-grounder to third by Orr.
The Bearcats registered three runs in the second and one in the third – including RBI singles by shortstop Cooper Backman in both innings – to take a 5-1 lead.
The Patriots plated three runs in the bottom of the third as Dorrell singled to extend his streak of safely reaching base to 54 games and later scored on a wild pitch. Orr drove in his second run with an RBI-double down the right field line and he later scored on a one-out single to left by designated hitter
Ethan McAnally.
Francis Marion drew even at 5-5 in the fourth when senior center fielder
Daniel Hussey reached on a throwing error, took second on a passed ball, and scampered home on a high chopper over the third baseman's head by Davis.
Lander (8-3) broke the deadlock with a trio of runs in the top of the seventh. FMU responded immediately in the bottom half of the frame with a four-spot to take its first lead at 9-8. Bussey III and Orr notched one-out singles. Bussey III then scored on a wild pitch, as did Orr three batters later. With two outs, Hussey lined a run-scoring single to center to plate McAnally. Hussey moved to second on a balk, stole third, and then scored when junior catcher
Zander Buchan got caught in a run down between first and second attempting to steal.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Backman lined a two-run double just inside the third base bag to put the Bearcats back on top 10-9. In the bottom of the inning, Orr doubled with one out and was replaced by pinch runner
Adrian Nina. Nina stole third before junior left fielder
Matthew Manuel drilled a 3-2 pitch deep into the left-center field gap for a two-out, game-tying RBI-double.
