FLORENCE, S.C. – Francis Marion University scored in its last at bat of both games of Wednesday's Peach Belt Conference softball doubleheader - on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly - to sweep the twinbill from USC Aiken. The Patriots won the opener 3-2 and took the second game 5-4 in 10 innings.
Francis Marion improves to 15-7 overall and evens its PBC mark at 4-4, while the Lady Pacers drop to 19-8 and 2-6.
In the first game, FMU freshman Lakyn Bendle scored on a wild pitch by USCA reliever Samantha Blair with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Patriots a 3-2 victory.
FMU owned a 2-0 advantage thanks to a two-run homer over the centerfield fence by sophomore shortstop Allie Aleman in the third inning. USCA’s Keshia Venable homered in the fifth and tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the seventh when she scored on an RBI-double by Amber Driggers.
Venable was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI. Designated hitter Shannan Tyson paced the Patriots with a 3-for-4 performance, while Aleman was 2-for-4.
FMU junior righty Jessica Johnson (8-3) tossed a three-hitter and struck out nine, while allowing only one earned run. USCA starter Stacie Oakley (8-4) was tagged with the loss, as Blair only threw two pitches, but one of them reached the back-stop.
In the second game, Patriot outfielder Jenna Sexton lined a sacrifice fly to left field in the bottom of the 10th inning to score freshman Serena Lim with the winning tally. Sexton, who only entered the batting line-up in the ninth inning (she was the flex player not batting until then), scored the tying run in the seventh inning as a pinch runner, doubled and scored the tying run in the ninth frame, and provided the game-winner in the 10th inning.
Lim (6-4) recorded the complete-game win, striking out seven, while Blair (8-3) was the hard-luck loser, as two of the Patriots’ runs were unearned.
Both teams scored one run in the third inning. USCA took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on an RBI-single by Jessica Strickland. FMU forced extra inning with a two-out run in the last of the seventh when Aleman singled home Sexton. Both teams scored single runs in the ninth and the game was knotted at 3-3.
In the top of the 10th inning, Venable doubled to center field and scored on a double by Sarah Harvey. In the bottom of the frame, Monica Wofford led off with a double and scored on a double by Lim to again tie the score (4-4). After a sacrifice bunt moved Lim to third, and a fielding error put another runner on base, Sexton lined her sacrifice fly to left field and Lim scored easily.
Tyson (3-for-4) had her second three-hit game of the day for FMU, while Lim was 2-for-5. Harvey paced USCA with a 2-for-5 showing.
