WILSON, NC - Freshman Preston Shuey drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly and senior Ryan Hypke added an insurance run with an RBI single in the ninth as Francis Marion University beat Barton College 4-2, Wednesday afternoon (April 9) in non-conference baseball action.
FMU improves to 28-16 with its third win in three days. The Patriots will play a three-game Peach Belt Conference series at Georgia Southwestern State University on Saturday and Sunday, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Three FMU pitchers scattered nine Barton hits. Starter Cory Deering allowed only two runs on six hits in six innings. Sophomore Erik Sommerville (5-2) pitched a perfect 1-2-3 seventh inning to get the win, while senior southpaw Zach Farry earned his school-record 11th save with two scoreless innings. Farry surpasses the previous record of 10 that he set in 2007.
After Barton took a 1-0 lead in the first frame, Francis Marion tallied a pair of runs in the third inning. Shortstop Greg Phelps plated Keon Graves with an RBI bunt single and center fielder Justin Greene followed with a run-scoring single to right field allowing freshman Chris Honeycutt to score.
The Bulldogs knotted the score at 2-2 on Zach Boyette’s solo home run over the left field fence.
Shuey’s team-leading 39th RBI of the season brought home Greene with the eventual winning run in the eighth inning. Greene had walked, took second on a wild pitch, and moved to third on a ground out. In the FMU ninth, Graves walked, stole second, and scored on Hypke’s single to center field.
Farry allowed a lead-off single in the ninth inning, but then proceeded to pick the pinch runner off first base.
Brandon Sneed (0-1) was the losing pitcher.
