MOUNT OLIVE, NC – Graduate student right-hander Jenna Walling, the reigning NFCA National Pitcher of the Week, registered a win and a save to lift 14th-ranked Francis Marion University to a Conference Carolinas softball doubleheader sweep of the University of Mount Olive on Wednesday afternoon (Apr. 1).  The Patriots rallied to win game one 6-3, and held on for a 4-3 victory in the second contest.
 
Francis Marion improves to 33-10 overall and 17-5 in league play.  FMU is also one win away from capturing its third consecutive East Division title.  The Patriots have a rare weekend off and will next play on Friday, Apr. 10, at home with a doubleheader against Lees-McRae College at 4 p.m.
 
In the opener, senior shortstop, and the program's all-time hits leader, Madalyn White led FMU with three hits, while Walling, junior right fielder McKenzie Jewell, and sophomore catcher Rylee Gray all registered two hits.
 
Francis Marion took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third when Walling doubled home a pair of runs.  The Trojans (21-19, 11-9) answered with a trio of runs in the last of the fourth – a two-out, two-run double by Allison Barbour was the big blow – to erase the deficit and claim a 3-2 advantage.
 
The Patriots rallied with four runs with two outs in the sixth to claim the victory.  With one out and a runner on first, sophomore designated player Reese Miller reached on an infield error.  After a pop out, both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch.  Gray then chopped a ball back up the middle that deflected off the shortstop's glove and was misplayed by the on-coming center fielder for a three-base error allowing both runners and Gray to score.
 
Graduate student center fielder Mikaela Goss followed with a single through the left side and then scored the final run on an RBI-double to center by White.
 
Walling picked up her 22nd win in 28 decisions by scattering seven hits, walking four, and striking out four.
 
UMO righty Hailey King (1-3) took the loss despite only allowing two earned runs.
 
In the second contest, FMU took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Miller scored on an RBI-ground out by Goss.  Mount Olive tied the game on a solo homer to left-centerfield by Samantha Taylor in the third.
 
A two-out rally in the fifth inning pushed Francis Marion ahead 3-1.  With one out, senior second baseman Maddy Golka was hit by a pitch.  Following a fly out, Jewell reached on an infield single.  Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch before senior third baseman Rylie Webster laced a two-run single to center field.
 
The Patriots added a key insurance run in the sixth when pinch runner Lainey Amaker scored on a two-out wild pitch.
 
UMO scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull within 4-3, but Walling got the final two outs to earn her fourth save of 2026 and record-setting eighth of her career.
 
FMU senior left-handed pitcher Alyssa Poston (7-2), the reigning two-time Conference Carolinas Pitcher of the Year, started game two after missing the last month with an injury.  She earned the win with 6.1 innings of work.  She allowed seven hits and three runs, while striking out two.
 
Jewell was the lone Patriot with multiple hits (2-for-3) in the second game.
 
Trojan righty Alex Steen (11-6) was tagged with the game two loss.