LAURINBURG, N.C.—Junior third baseman Keon Graves (Dillon, S.C.) hit a pair of home runs while freshman Ricky Kalgstein (Coral Springs, Fla.) tossed 6.0 innings of one-hit ball as visiting Francis Marion University blanked host St. Andrews Presbyterian College, 17-0, on Tuesday afternoon at Clark Field.

The Patriots offense connected for 19 hits including seven extra-base knocks to improve to 27-16 on the season. The Knights, who fell to 13-31, were only shutout for the second time in 44 games this season.

Francis Marion fell out of the ABCA national poll yesterday but is still ranked No. 30 in the PING Baseball national poll and seventh in the NCBWA South Atlantic Region poll.

FMU scored its runs in bunches scoring four runs in both the second and fourth. The Patriots increased their lead to 14-0 with a six-run fifth. A three-run blast by Graves in the seventh capped the Patriots scoring.

Kalgstein, who only allowed a single through the left side of the infield to Knights’ senior B.J. Horne (Hamlet, N.C.) in the second, earned his second win of the season. Kalgstein (2-1) had six strike outs and no walks over 6.0 innings. Freshman Tyler Lehman (Rock Hill, S.C.) preserved the shutout with three scoreless innings of relief in his first appearance on the mound this season. Lehman was credited with the rare 3.0 inning save after tossing three scoreless innings while scattering three hits and striking out a pair of Knights.

After scoring the first run of the game on an error, Graves launched a two-run homer to left field in the second. Senior Justin Greene (Goose Creek, S.C.) finished off the four-run second with an RBI-single. 

Francis Marion doubled its lead to 8-0 with four more runs in the fourth that was highlighted by a two-run single by junior Jared Barkdoll (Greencastle, Pa.) and a one-run double by freshman Preston Shuey (Charlotte, N.C.).

The Patriots continued to pull away with a six-run outburst in the fifth. Senior Ryan Hypke’s (Champagne, Ill.) first triple of the season produced two runs while Greene added a sacrifice fly. Sophomore Trent Knight (Cheraw, S.C.) and freshman Vince Farfaglia’s (Saratoga, N.Y.) back-to-back doubles plated the Patriots final three runs of the fifth.  

Graves, who finished the game with five RBI, smoked his second home run of the game in the seventh. Graves’ team-high eighth homer of the season was also over the left field wall.

Shuey, Hypke, and Greene were each 3-for-5 on the day with all three of Shuey’s hits being doubles. Shuey also crossed home plate a team-high three times. FMU had nine players hit safely with seven of them driving in runs.

Senior Jeff Hayes (Wake Forest, N.C.), senior Eric Stone (Laurinburg, N.C.), and sophomore Alex Ridout (Wake Forest, N.C.) had the Knights other three singles.

St. Andrews visiting non-conference Lander University (Greenwood, S.C.) on Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. Francis Marion travels to non-conference Barton College (Wilson, N.C.) tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.