Edgin Blanks Tusculum as Francis Marion Wins 5-0 in NCAA Regional Opener

AIKEN, SC – Junior left-hander Josh Edgin tossed a two-hit shutout to give seventh-ranked and second-seeded Francis Marion University a 5-0 win over 30th-ranked and fifth-seeded Tusculum College, Thursday afternoon (May 14) in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Baseball Tournament.

Francis Marion improves to 37-13-1 with its 16th straight win and advances to face 21st-ranked and fourth-seeded Catawba College on Friday at 7 p.m. Catawba beat Georgia College & State University 7-5 in Thursday’s opener. Tusculum (36-17) will face the USC Aiken/Belmont Abbey College loser on Friday at 11 a.m.

The 37 wins is the second-highest season total for Francis Marion, bested only by the 41 victories in the 2006 campaign.

Edgin (4-2) retired 13 consecutive batters through the middle innings while the Patriots finally dented the scoreboard, scoring three times in the fourth and twice in the fifth frame. The 6-2, 225-pound native of Three Springs, Pa., struck out six and walked only one batter. He needed only 94 pitches in the game that lasted only 2:01.

He allowed singles in the third and seventh innings and no Pioneer runner reached third base. Including his streak in the middle innings, he retired 21 of the final 22 Tusculum batters.

FMU junior outfielders Martin Gordon and Alex Lee were both 2-for-4 at the top of the FMU lineup, while freshman left fielder Tyler Boyd was 2-for-4 in the No.9 spot.

In the fourth inning, Patriot catcher Jared Barkdoll walked to lead off the inning. Following an infield error and a sacrifice bunt, FMU had runners on second and third. Sophomore first baseman Preston Shuey plated the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly to right center field. Jacob Wallace scored Francis Marion’s second run when he scored from second on a single through the right side by Josh Biggers. On the play, the throw from Tusculum right fielder Jared Richmond beat Wallace to the plate, but Tusculum catcher Sean Finucane dropped the ball when Wallace collided with him at the plate. Biggers scored the third run on an RBI double down the left field line by Boyd.

The Patriots tallied a pair of runs in the fifth to lead 5-0. Lee dropped a double onto the left field line to lead off the frame. One batter later, he scored on a hit-and-run single through the left side by Barkdoll, the school’s all-time RBI leader. Kleinknecht scored the second run on an RBI fielder’s choice grounder by Wallace. Wallace did have his 16-game hitting streak snapped.

Kleinknecht's seventh-inning single was his 87th hit of the year breaking FMU's season record for total hits.

Richmond and second baseman Payden Houser had the two Tusculum hits. Senior righty Max Keleher (7-3) was tagged with the loss as he allowed seven hits and the five runs, although only one of the runs was earned.