FLORENCE, SC – Senior right-handed pitcher Robbie Jordan delivered a complete-game gem in a 9-2 win on Saturday (Feb. 28), as No. 21 ranked Francis Marion University battled to a doubleheader split against No. 2 ranked North Greenville University in Conference Carolinas baseball action at Sparrow Stadium. The Trailblazers won the opener in the series 17-4.

The Patriots improve to 15-2 overall with a 7-1 mark in league competition. The rubber match of the three-game set will be played on Sunday (March 1) with first pitch scheduled at 1 p.m.

Jordan (5-0), a product of Florence Christian School, tossed a 7.0-inning complete-game performance after matching a season-high with eight strikeouts. He yielded two runs (one earned) on just five hits with one walk issued after throwing 116 pitches. Jordan earned his 26th career win on the mound for the Patriots to move into a tie for third all-time alongside his former high school coach and FMU Hall of Famer Scotty Keefe.

Francis Marion scored in the opening two innings in Game 2 to take an early lead, highlighted by a solo homer to right-center from sixth-year outfielder Daniel Hussey, his third of the year, 2-0.

The Trailblazers scraped across a run in the top of the third on a throwing error to trim the deficit. Francis Marion responded in the bottom half of the frame with a trio of RBI singles from redshirt junior first baseman Charlie Bussey III, junior designated hitter Ethan McAnally, and Hussey to build the advantage to 5-1.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Patriots put on the finishing touches with four runs on two hits. With one out, senior outfielder Riley Orr launched a two-run homer to left field, his fourth of the year. Following a walk and a hit by pitch, junior outfielder Matthew Manuel laced a two-run double in left-center to extend the lead to 9-1.

NGU scored its final run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly as FMU earned the 9-2 victory.

Hussey finished 3-for-3 with a solo homer, four runs batted in, and one run scored. Bussey went 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored. Senior third baseman Will Dorrell extended his on-base streak to 60 games after reaching safely in both contests.

North Greenville starter Matty Brown suffered his first collegiate loss (3-1) after entering the contest with an impressive 14-0 all-time record. He surrendered seven runs (five earned) on eight hits with three strikeouts and one walk in 4.1 innings (66 pitches).

In the opener, the Trailblazers leaped out to a 5-0 edge in the opening two frames after tallying three doubles. The Patriots managed to respond in the bottom of the second with an RBI single up the middle by senior second baseman Jimmy Koza, 5-1.

North Greenville broke the game open in the top of the sixth with eight runs on six hits after batting around the lineup, 13-1.

Francis Marion scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh, highlighted by a two-run homer over the scoreboard in left-center by McAnally, his team-leading fifth of the year.

NGU scored three unanswered runs in the top of the eighth to seal the 17-4 win in Game 1.

Junior southpaw Aydin Palmer (3-1) suffered his first loss of the season after yielding five runs (four earned) on five hits with two strikeouts and two walks in 2.0 innings (53 pitches).

NGU junior righty Brett Roemer (4-0) earned the win after allowing just one earned run on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 5.0 innings pitched (89 pitches).