FMU righty named Pitcher of the Week; Patriots now 11th in poll

FLORENCE, S.C. – For the second straight week, Francis Marion University senior right-hander David Walters has been named the Peach Belt Conference “Pitcher of the Week,” this time for the week of March 3-8. The Patriots also moved up 10 spots to 11th in this week’s Collegiate Baseball Magazine NCAA Division II Top 30 poll.

Walters blanked USC Aiken on five singles through 8.1 innings on Saturday in an 8-0 Patriot win. He also picked up a save earlier in the week with a scoreless ninth inning in a 2-0 victory over Clarion University. For the week, he struck out 10 batters and walked only two.

The 6-2 righty upped his season record to 3-1, while lowering his earned run average to 3.38. He has not allowed an earned run in his past 16.1 innings.

A native of River Hill, Md., Walters posted a 9-4 record last year and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 47th round of last year’s draft, but chose to return to school for his senior year.
Francis Marion owned a 15-7-1 record heading into Wednesday’s doubleheader at Mount Olive College, the NCAA Division II defending national champion. FMU will then head to Greenwood, S.C., for a three-game PBC series at Lander University this weekend. The Patriots are currently second in the Peach Belt with a 6-3 conference mark, one game behind the leader.

This is the highest ranking for the Patriots in 2009. Dating back to the 2005 season, the Patriots have appeared in 68 of the past 73 national polls.

California State University Stanislaus (16-3) occupies the top position in the poll, while three PBC squads are ranked.


Michael G. Hawkins