Francis Marion Sweeps Lions
February 12, 2012FLORENCE, S.C.—Francis Marion shut down Mars Hill’s bats with 7-5 and 5-2 victories to earn the sweep over the Lions at FMU Softball Field Sunday afternoon. Francis Marion improved to 6-0 on the season. Mars Hill fell to 5-3.
Katie Carnes and Kayla Ellingsen each pitched complete games to earn victories for the Patriots. Olivia Ferguson helped pace Francis Marion offensively with three RBI’s, while Tristan Faile drove in two runs. Taylor Morris, Robyn Stanek and Shaundee Woosley each drove in two runs for the Lions.
Game One
Mars Hill struck first, but six unanswered runs by Francis Marion proved too much for the Lions to overcome.
Mars Hill scored first with two runs on a Morris RBI single and an error, but the Patriots answered with five runs of their own in the bottom of the first. Ferguson doubled home a pair of runs to tie the score, and Ellingsen and Krissy Longstreet added run-scoring hits in the inning to make the score 5-2.The Patriots tacked on another run in the bottom of the second to make the score 6-2.
Trailing 7-3 going into the seventh, the Lions rallied to score a pair of runs, but the comeback attempt fell short. Morris and Shaundee Woosley each singled home runs for the Lions, but Ellingsen was able to bear down and shut the door for the Patriots victory. Morris and Woosley each had three hits and two RBI’s in the game for the Lions.
Ellingsen worked a complete game, striking out three to improve to 3-0 on the season. Sara Broderick had three hits in the game for Francis Marion.
Game Two
Mars Hill again had a lead in the early innings, but Francis Marion scored the last four runs to earn the 5-2 victory.
Stanek drove in two runs to help spot the Lions a 2-1 lead through three innings. From there however, Carnes was able to keep Mars Hill scoreless the rest of the way. Carnes struck out seven and allowed just four hits to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Francis Marion took the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Ferguson homered to tie the game at 2-2, and the Patriots took the lead for good on a Jazz Holliday run-scoring single through the right side. The Patriots tacked on insurance runs in the fifth on a Carnes RBI single, and in the sixth on a Destinea Schneider RBI groundout.
Mars Hill will be in action again on Wednesday, Feb. 15 when they host Division II powerhouse North Georgia at Ponder Field. First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m.
