#18 FMU beats #19 Belmont Abbey 12-5

BELMONT, NC - The first three batters in the Francis Marion University lineup combined for 10 hits as the 18th-ranked Patriots claimed a key 12-5 road win over 19th-ranked Belmont Abbey College, Thursday afternoon (April 23) at Abbey Yard.

The Patriots improve to 30-13-1 with their ninth straight victory, while the Abbey had its six-game winning streak snapped and falls to 31-22.

Senior righty David Walters (7-3) earned the win after allowing five runs on ten hits in seven and two-thirds innings, striking out six and walking two in an 120-pitch outing. Belmont Abbey starter Michael Raymond took the loss after giving up six runs on seven hits in an inning and two-thirds, fanning one and walking two.

FMU leadoff batter Martin Gordon continued his torrid hitting with a 4-6 day that extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Alex Lee and Barrett Kleinknecht both has three hits and two runs batted in following Gordon in the lineup.

The Patriots jumped ahead 2-0 in the top of the first, but the Abbey would knot the game at two in the bottom half of the inning, as Justin Vasquez singled to right field and scored on Daniel Kassouf's 22nd homer of the year, a blast to dead center to tie the game at two.

Francis Marion responded one inning later by scoring four runs to reclaim a lead it would never lose again. Lee ripped an RBI single, followed by an RBI groundout by Kleinknecht, and a two-RBI single by Jared Barkdoll closed the scoring in the inning for the Patriots.

The Abbey got one back in the bottom of the inning as Spencer Sobol brought home Tyler McKenzie with a sacrifice fly.

Both teams scored single runs in the fifth, but the Patriots plated three in the sixth to open up a 10-4 advantage. The Crusaders pushed a run across in the seventh as Vasquez doubled to right center and scored on a double by Sobol. Francis Marion closed the scoring with lone runs in the eighth and ninth to provide the winning margin.

The two teams combined for 33 hits as Francis Marion banged out 21. Sophomore first baseman Preston Shuey also had three hits and two RBIs for FMU.

Belmont Abbey was led by Vasquez and Kassouf, who both had three hits. Sobol drove in three runs.

The Patriots, ranked third in the latest NCAA Southeast Region poll, will play a doubleheader at St. Andrews Presbyterian College on Sunday at noon. FMU will close out its regular season with a home game on Monday at 4:30 p.m. (please note the time change) against Erskine College.