The first game will start at 1 p.m. on the FMU Softball Field.

    Francis Marion is 33-11 overall and fifth in the PBC standings with a 9-9 conference mark.  UNF is 34-6 overall, second in the PBC at 15-3, and is currently riding a seven-game winning streak.

    The Patriots will honor their two seniors prior to the game: center fielder Betsy Bouknight (Leesville, S.C.) and utility player Amber Gaines (Garden Grove, Calif.).  Bouknight, a speedy lead-off hitter, holds the Patriot career record for hits (234) and owns a .361 career average in 185 games.  A two-time All-Region selection, she has also stolen 97 bases in 109 career attempts.  Gaines has compiled a .252 career average in 176 games, while seeing action in the outfield and at second base.  Her career totals of 65 walks and 11 hit-by-pitches are both two shy of the FMU records in those categories.

    FMU was to have played a non-conference road doubleheader at Fayetteville State University on Sunday, but that twinbill has been cancelled.  The Patriots will conclude their regular-season schedule on Tuesday with a doubleheader at Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C.

    The Peach Belt Tournament is set for April 15-17 in Aiken.

    FMU has never beaten North Florida in 12 previous meetings.

    In other FMU sports action, the 15-ranked Patriot baseball team (27-11-1, 14-9-1) will play a three-game series at Armstrong Atlantic State University (21-8, 4-7) this weekend, starting with a single game on Saturday at 3 p.m.

    The FMU men’s and women’s tennis teams will play host to Anderson College, Sunday at 1 p.m. on the Kassab Courts.  This will be the final regular-season match for the 21st-ranked FMU men’s team.

#112/4-8-05