FLORENCE, SC – Senior third baseman Travis Holloman belted a go-ahead two-run homer and junior center fielder Zach Boyette went 5-for-5 to lead Barton College to a 7-5 upset of ninth-ranked Francis Marion University, Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 20) in college baseball action.
Barton edges above the .500 mark at 7-6, while Francis Marion (11-2) sees its nine-game winning streak stopped.
FMU senior right-hander Ed Paul (1-1) surrendered his first runs of the season and was tagged with the loss. Barton starter Brent Godwin (2-0) got the win, while Nick Nigito got the final three outs to earn his second save of 2008.
Holloman finished the game 3-for-5 with three runs batted in, while Boyette had four singles and a double and drove in two runs. Barrett Martin and Brandon Sneed both had two hits apiece for Barton.
FMU senior shortstop Greg Phelps was 2-for-5, including a two-run homer, to extend his hitting streak to 21 games. Senior center fielder Justin Greene and junior third baseman Keon Graves were both 3-for-4. Jared Barkdoll, Tyler Lehman, and Vince Farfaglia also had two hits in the losing cause.
Both teams scored once in the first inning. The Patriots loaded the bases with no outs, but could only manage one run and that scored on a double-play grounder. Barton scored three times in the second. Holloman had a run-scoring double and Boyette a two-run double. Francis Marion matched those three tallies in the third, thanks to Phelps’ homer and a second run-scoring double play grounder off the bat of freshman Preston Shuey.
Holloman’s two-run homer in the fourth put Barton ahead for good. FMU scratched its final run in the eighth on a single by Graves, but the Patriots left the tying runs on base in both the eighth and ninth frames.
FMU will open its Peach Belt Conference schedule this weekend with a three-game series at UNC Pembroke, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. Barton hosts Belmont Abbey College for a twinbill on Saturday starting at noon.
