TIGERVILLE, S.C. – In its first NCAA Tournament game in 14 years, No. 5-seeded Francis Marion University delivered a strong offensive performance to power past the No. 4 seed University of North Georgia by a 10-7 margin on Thursday (May 14) in the opening game of the NCAA Southeast Regional, hosted by North Greenville University.
With the win, the Patriots (43-12) advance in the winner's bracket and will face North Greenville or Lander on Friday, May 15, at 6 p.m. North Georgia (41-15) will play an elimination game at 2 p.m. on Friday, with its opponent to be determined.
Redshirt junior right fielder
Charlie Bussey III produced a perfect 5-for-5 performance at the plate with two doubles, one run batted in, and two runs scored. Bussey III becomes just the third player in NCAA Division II history to tally 100 hits and 100 runs scored in a season, joining Joe Dimberger, Colorado Mesa (2004), and Mackenzie Wainwright, Lenoir-Rhyne (2025). Additionally, he is the first-ever Patriot to log 100 hits in a single season.
As a team, the Patriots enter today as the top-scoring offense in all of NCAA Division II. With its 10-run performance, Francis Marion is tied for eighth all-time in D2 history with 634 runs scored in a single season.
Junior designated hitter
Ethan McAnally finished 2-for-5 with a homer, a double, four runs batted in, and one run scored. Senior first baseman
Riley Orr reached base four times with two doubles and two walks. Redshirt junior catcher
Zander Buchan drew four walks from the leadoff spot and scored three times.
On the mound, junior southpaw
Aydin Palmer (10-2), a product of South Florence High School, secured the win after allowing two earned runs on four hits in 3.1 innings of relief (43 pitches) with one strikeout. Freshman left-handed pitcher
Garrett Long took a no-decision after yielding five earned runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and one walk in 4.0 innings (98 pitches). Junior righty
Jafet Martinez Delgado earned his team-leading sixth save of the season after closing out the final 1.2 innings with one strikeout.
After Buchan drew a leadoff walk to begin the contest, Bussey III laced a double down the left-field line to put two runners in scoring position. McAnally stepped up with an RBI groundout to second base to give the Patriots an early 1-0 edge.
In the top of the third, the Patriots replicated the top of the first with Buchan reaching via a walk and Bussey delivering an RBI double to left field. With one out, senior left fielder
Will Dorrell belted a three-run opposite-field homer to left to extend the lead to 4-0.
Bussey III registered his third hit of the game in the top of the fourth after ripping an RBI single to left-center, 5-0.
In the top of the fifth, McAnally produced a leadoff solo homer to center field, his team-leading 21st blast of the season. Later in the frame, Orr hit a double to left field before advancing to third on a single by sixth-year center fielder
Daniel Hussey. Orr scored during the next at-bat on a throwing error by the catcher as Hussey stole second, 7-0.
The Nighthawks rallied in the bottom half of the fifth, scoring six runs on six hits as the first seven batters reached base in the frame to cut the deficit to 7-6.
Francis Marion immediately answered back in the top of the sixth as McAnally laced a two-run double off the wall in left-center to increase the lead to 9-6. The Patriots would add an insurance run in the top of the seventh with a leadoff solo homer to left field by senior second baseman
Jimmy Koza, his second of the year, 10-6.
Despite North Georgia scoring two more runs in the final three innings, the Patriots sealed the opening round win by a final of 10-8.
Nighthawk starter Matthew Heard (8-2) suffered the loss.
