FLORENCE, SC – Senior first baseman Riley Orr led the offensive charge on Saturday afternoon, as No. 13-ranked Francis Marion University captured a Conference Carolinas series victory over the University of Mount Olive with a doubleheader sweep at Sparrow Stadium. The Patriots earned a 7-3 win in game one before posting an 18-4 victory in game two.

Francis Marion secured a fourth-straight league series win to improve to 27-7 overall with a 17-4 record in Conference Carolinas play. FMU honored the 20th Anniversary of the 2006 World Series Team prior to the first pitch and celebrated Alumni Day at the ballpark.

The Patriots will travel to Newberry College on Tuesday, March 31, for a non-conference contest, starting at 6 p.m.

In Game 1, Orr finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a homer, three RBIs, and one run scored, while senior second baseman Jimmy Koza recorded a two-hit performance with one run scored.

Junior southpaw Aydin Palmer (7-1), a product of South Florence, earned the win after allowing three earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and three walks over 5.0 innings pitched (105 pitches). Palmer is currently tied for the NCAA Division II lead with seven wins.

Junior Jafet Martinez Delgado closed out the game with 2.0 scoreless innings (34 pitches) while yielding two hits with two strikeouts.

The Trojans grabbed the early edge in the top of the first with a two-out RBI double to left-center to lead by a 1-0 margin.

FMU countered in the bottom half of the first as Orr launched a three-run opposite field homer to right, his eighth of the year, to take a 3-1 advantage. The Patriots added to the lead in the second inning as freshman shortstop Logan Davis laced an RBI single through the right side before junior right fielder Charlie Bussey III recorded an RBI on a fielder's choice. Junior designated hitter Ethan McAnally capped the three-run frame with a sacrifice fly to right center to increase the lead to 6-1.

In the top of the third, the Trojans cut into the deficit with a two-run double down the right-field line to trail by a 6-3 margin. FMU scored an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth courtesy of a wild pitch, 7-3

The Patriots would completely shut down UMO the remainder of the game, registering four scoreless innings and allowing just three hits. 

Aiden Newton (3-2) of Mount Olive was saddled with the loss.

In Game 2, FMU had six players record multi-RBI performances, as senior left fielder Will Dorrell, leading off, went 3-for-3 with one RBI, four runs scored, and two walks. McAnally finished 3-for-5 with two runs batted in, one run scored, and two walks. Koza produced three RBIs in the win with a bases-clearing double.

Sophomore Jackson Madden (1-0) secured the win after tossing 4.0 scoreless innings (68 pitches) of relief with five strikeouts and five walks while allowing just one hit. Redshirt junior Cole Gursky took a no-decision in the start after surrendering four earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks in 4.0 innings (81 pitches). Redshirt senior Tyler Reynolds finished the contest with a scoreless ninth-inning performance.

Mount Olive once again established an early advantage with an RBI groundout in the top of the first.

In the bottom of the first, McAnally quickly tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI double to left field. The Patriots quickly piled on three more runs in the second inning as Dorrell drove in a run with an RBI double to left center before two base runners scored on wild pitches, 4-1.

The Trojans managed to trim the deficit in the top of the fourth with an RBI double and single to trail by a 4-3 margin.

In the fourth, Francis Marion gained a four-run advantage after scoring three runs on two hits, highlighted by an RBI ground-rule double down the left-field line from McAnally, 7-3.

The Trojans brought across their final run of the game in the top of the fifth following a wild pitch, as FMU held a 7-4 edge.

The Patriots broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth with an eight-run frame after batting around the lineup. Davis and Orr both delivered two-run singles while Koza hit a two-out, three-run double down the right-field line to take a 15-4 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, Francis Marion brought across three additional runs to extend the lead to 18-4, highlighted by a two-run homer to left center by Bussey III, his 11th of the season.

Lucas Glover of Mount Olive (0-2) suffered the loss in Game 2.