TIGERVILLE, SC – Junior two-way player
Ethan McAnally delivered on the mound and at the plate on Saturday night (May 16), as fifth-seeded and 11th-ranked Francis Marion University outslugged top-seeded and second-ranked North Greenville University by an 11-8 margin in the championship game of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Baseball Tournament.
The Patriots improve to 45-12 and advance to the Southeast Super Regional for the first-time in program history, where FMU will face second-seeded and fifth-ranked Catawba College, in a best-of-three series in Salisbury, N.C. The Super Regional will take place May 21-23 (Thursday-Saturday) with the Patriots looking to return to the NCAA Division II College World Series for the first time since 2006.
McAnally took the ball in game three of the Tigerville Regional for his first career start with the Patriots after pitching just 2.0 innings of relief all season. He produced a stellar five-inning performance (70 pitches), allowing three earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts and zero walks. He also delivered at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two runs batted in, one run scored, and one stolen base.
The trio of right-handed pitcher
Jafet Martinez Delgado and southpaws sophomore
Jackson Madden and freshman
Garrett Long pitched effectively to close out the final four innings of the game. Long secured his first collegiate save after tossing 1.1 innings and striking out three.
FMU senior left fielder
Will Dorrell finished 3-for-4 with a homer, three RBIs, two runs scored, and one stolen base. Senior second baseman
Jimmy Koza also went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and one run scored. Redshirt junior right fielder
Charlie Bussey III finished 2-for-4 with a homer, one RBI, and three runs scored.
In the bottom of the first, redshirt junior catcher
Zander Buchan and Bussey III both reached base via a walk and a single, respectively. McAnally came through in the next at-bat, lacing an RBI-single up the middle to take a 1-0 edge. Dorrell followed with a sacrifice fly to center field before sixth-year center fielder
Daniel Hussey hit an RBI-single through the left side for a 3-0 lead.
Bussey III added to the lead in the third frame with a solo homer to center field, his 20th of the year, 4-0. The Patriots loaded the bases later in the inning, and Koza produced a clutch two-run single up the middle to take a 6-0 advantage. Freshman third baseman
Myles Proffitt added an run-scoring single to up the margin to 7-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, Buchan launched a no-doubt solo homer to right field, his fourth of the year, to claim a 8-0 lead.
The Trailblazers rallied in the top of the sixth, scoring three runs on five hits to trail by a 8-3 margin. North Greenville continued to chip away at the deficit in the seventh with two more runs, highlighted by a leadoff solo homer, 8-5.
FMU responded in the bottom half of the seventh as Dorrell belted a solo home run to right-center, his seventh of the season, to regain a four-run lead at 9-5.
After NGU scored a run in the top of the eighth, the Patriots countered with back-to-back RBI singles from McAnally and Dorrell to extend the lead to 11-6.
Despite a two-run homer by the Trailblazers in the ninth inning, Francis Marion closed the door to seal the 11-8 win.
Oliver Adams (4-1) of North Greenville suffered the loss.
Ethan McAnally
