AASU sweeps Patriots 4-2 and 6-3 on diamond

FLORENCE, SC – Junior first baseman Nicole Huddleston compiled four hits and drove in three runs to help Armstrong Atlantic State University to a doubleheader sweep of Francis Marion University, Tuesday afternoon (April 7) in Peach Belt Conference softball action. The Pirates won the opener 4-2 and used a first-inning two-run homer by Huddleston to capture a 6-3 win in the second contest.

AASU improves to 21-19 overall and 9-7 in the PBC, while Francis Marion (25-16, 7-11) has dropped nine of its last 11 games and has lost five straight for the first time since 2004.

In game one, AASU scored once in the third inning on an RBI-single to left by Huddleston. The margin grew to 4-0 when the Pirates scored three unearned runs in the fourth. Erin Billingsley plated one run with an RBI bunt single, while Stephanie Mattes drove in a run with a fielder’s choice grounder and Casey Saunders pushed home the last run with a sacrifice fly.

Francis Marion answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth frame, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Junior leftfielder Jessica Birchmeier stroked an RBI single down the right field line and senior second baseman Laura Hauff recorded an infield RBI single. The Patriots left runners on first and third base in that inning and would not get another runner in scoring position over their final three at bats.

Freshman right-hander Emily Headrick (9-5) pitched the first five innings for AASU, while Courtney Alvarez earned her first save with two scoreless frames. Huddleston was 3-for-4 in the opener, while Sam Floyd and Billingsley each had two hits.

FMU junior southpaw Michaela Wolf (14-9) allowed nine hits, but only one earned run in her seven innings. She struck out six and walked no one. Birchmeier was 3-for-3 at the plate in game one.

Huddleston’s opposite field two-run shot in the top of the first gave the Pirates a lead they would not relinquish. AASU freshman righty Britton Hammel-Cobb (2-6) scattered 10 hits in a complete-game effort.

FMU trimmed the margin to 2-1 in the second inning when Birchmeier led off with a double to left center and came home to score on a single by Hauff.

AASU scored three times in the fourth, two coming home on a long single by Billingsley, and once in the fifth to lead 6-1. Wolf hit a two-out, two-run homer run in the bottom of the seventh inning to account for the other FMU runs.

Patriot freshman Lauren Bubeck (8-6) pitched the first four innings and allowed five runs on seven hits. Birchmeier had two more hits in the second game, while Wolf and Hauff each had two hits.

Mattes and Baillie Temples were both 2-for-3 for AASU in the second contest.

FMU plays host to St. Andrews Presbyterian College on Friday at 2 p.m. for a doubleheader, while AASU entertains Flagler College also on Friday at 2 p.m.