PEMBROKE, N.C. --  Senior Wendi Cochran hit her seventh home run of the season and catcher Randi Pruitt drove in three runs as UNC Pembroke knocked off 23rd-ranked Francis Marion University twice Tuesday (April 3) in Peach Belt Conference action at LRA Softball Field, winning game one 5-3 and game two 9-3.

Braves’ left fielder Megan Rusk tallied four hits on the day accounting for four runs and driving in another for UNCP (17-29, 3-15 PBC). FMU third baseman Shannon Tyson was six-of-eight at the plate with three runs scored and shortstop Allie Aleman drove in three runs of her own for the Patriots (30-12, 8-8 PBC).

Francis Marion will play host to Lander University for a PBC twinbill on Friday at 2 p.m.

Game One: UNCP 5, FMU 3

The Braves got on the board in the first inning when Pruitt singled with the bases loaded, driving in two runs, to give UNCP the early lead. Aleman put the Patriots on the board in the top of the third when she singled down the right field line scoring Tyson from second.

UNCP would respond in their half of the third on a Katie Linkous single up the middle, which scored Katie Rubio from second. Pembroke would add two more runs in the fourth, one on a Rubio single down the right field line and another on a Brittany Berrier one-bagger to left.

Trailing 5-1, the Patriots plated two runs in the fifth inning, thanks to a monster two-run blast to left field by Janine Allen. However that would be as close as FMU would get as Pembroke shut out the Patriots in the final two innings to win game one 5-3.

Sophomore Candace Evans (8-14) earned the complete game victory giving up three runs on eight hits with four walks while striking out two. Sophomore righty Serena Lim was credited with the loss for FMU, falling to 7-2 on the season.

Game Two: UNCP 9, FMU 3

Pembroke exploded for five runs in the first inning of game two as the Braves accumulated five hits in the inning. Francis Marion didn’t help its cause by committing three errors in the inning, which led to two of UNCP’s runs in the frame.

The score would remain 5-0 until the top of the fourth when Patriot second baseman Shawn Moore homered to left to cut the UNCP lead to four. The Braves would look to put the game away in the bottom half of the fourth as they tallied four runs in the inning, highlighted by a Cochran two-run shot to left, to go up 9-1.

The Patriots would add a run in the fifth and another in the seventh, with Aleman driving in Tyson both times – once with an RBI single and once with a sacrifice fly.

Mara Thornton (6-13) would get the win for the Braves as she went seven complete innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with four walks and two strikeouts. FMU starter Melanie Bisek (0-1) lost her first decision of the season, giving up five runs on five hits in a third of an inning of work.