GREENWOOD - The No. 20-ranked Francis Marion baseball team completed its three-game Peach Belt Conference sweep of No. 30 Lander on Sunday when the Patriots claimed a doubleheader, 9-7 and 11-1, at Dolny Stadium.
Francis Marion improves to 30-13 overall and 17-9 in the PBC, while Lander moves to 28-15, 13-11.
In the first game, FMU's Jarrott Hooks (5-0) earned the win in relief after striking out one, walking two and allowing four earned runs on four hits in 2.2 innings pitched. Starter Gary Ashcraft went 5.2 innings and struck out four, walked six and allowed three earned runs on six hits. Jeffrey Stoner earned his third save of the year in two-thirds of an inning.
Lander starter Chris Thomas (5-2) took the loss, striking out five, walking two and allowing four earned runs on seven hits in six innings pitched.
The Bearcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Kevin Starr's bases-loaded double plated Patrick Grady and Erik Lunde.
Lander extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth on Jeff May's sacrifice fly which sent Starr home.
Francis Marion exploded for six runs in the seventh to take a 6-3 lead. Jarrod Reed's RBI double scored Stephen Tarkenton, then Reed and Brock McCallister both scored on a Lander error. Tyler Boyd drove in Luke Tollison and Brian Paulhus scored on a wild pitch. Tarkenton's sacrifice fly plated Michael Wilson for the final run of the inning.
The Patriots stretched the lead to 8-3 in the ninth when Tyler Hibbs and Boyd scored on Buddy Sosnoskie's sacrifice bunt combined with a Lander throwing error, then Sosnoskie went home on Tarkenton's sacrifice fly.
The Bearcats rallied for four runs in the fourth on AJ Nunziato's two-run homer, Ian Harvey's RBI double and Jacob Tisdales' RBI single.
For Lander, Aaron Poole and Grady batted 2-for-3, Starr went 2-for-5 and Harvey 2-for-6.
For FMU, McCallister went 2-for-4 and Boyd 2-for-5.
In the second game, Matt Broderick (7-1) was awarded the win after striking out one, walking two and allowed just five hits in six innings pitched. Stoner earned his second save of the day and fourth of the season when he struck out three, walked one and allowed one earned run in three innings of relief.
Lander's Kyle Tate (3-1) suffered his first loss of the year, striking out one, walking one and allowing four earned runs on six hits in four innings pitched.
The Patriots took a 3-0 lead in the first inning when Sosnoskie's stroked a two-run single and later scored on a wild pitch.
FMU stretched the lead to 4-0 in the fifth on Jacob Golliday's solo homer over the centerfield wall.
The sixth inning was the most damaging for the Bearcats as FMU extended its lead to 10-0. Wilson stroked a two-RBI double, Golliday an RBI double, and McCallister, Tollison and Will Chandler had RBI singles.
The Patriots posted their final run in the eighth on Sosnoskie's RBI groundout.
The Bearcats scored their lone run in the eighth when a Starr single drove in Grady.
For the Patriots, Wilson, Sosnoskie and Tollison had three hits each, while Boyd, McCallister and Golliday had two each.
For the Bearcats, Harvey and Lunde both batted 2-for-5.
