Patriots split softball twinbill with Mount Olive

FLORENCE, SC – After getting eight hits and scoring six runs in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, the bats of fifth-ranked Francis Marion University fell nearly silent in game two as Mount Olive College claimed a 5-1 win and a split of the non-conference twinbill.

FMU won the opener 6-0 as junior left-hander Michaela Wolf (6-0) tossed a three-hitter, while fanning seven and walking no one. At the plate, Wolf also contributed a run-scoring ground out in the fifth frame.

The Patriots scored the only run they would need in the bottom of the first on a run-scoring single by freshman second baseman Ashley Jaramillo. Jaramillo finished the game 2-for-3. FMU added four more runs in the fourth off losing pitcher Anna Turvin (0-1). Junior left fielder Jessica Birchmeier delivered a two-out, 2-run single in the uprising.

In the second game, Mount Olive freshman righty Kristin Ware improved to 3-0 as she held FMU to four singles. The Patriots’ lone run came in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out, RBI-single by senior center fielder Lakyn Bendle.

The Trojans took a 1-0 lead in the third when left fielder Kat Cahoon stroked a two-out, run-scoring single off FMU freshman right-hander Lauren Bubeck (2-1).

Cahoon added a second RBI-single in a four-run fifth frame, that also included an RBI single from shortstop Kelly Minshew and a two-run single by third baseman Robbin Kennedy. Both Cahoon and Minshew finished the game 2-for-4.

Francis Marion will play host to Fayetteville State University for a non-conference doubleheader on Sunday at noon, while Mount Olive travels to Wingate University on Tuesday for a 2 p.m. twinbill.

By Michael G. Hawkins