FLORENCE – Chris Hyatt and Colby Lusignan had back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning of the first game Saturday to lead the Lander baseball team to a 6-5 victory and a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader split at Francis Marion. FMU won the second game, 11-5.

The two teams will complete the three game series with a 1 o'clock game on Sunday.

Lander moves to 15-18 overall and 7-13 in the PBC, while FMU is 18-10, 9-6.

In the first game, Lander's Cameron Tekker (1-3) earned the victory on the mound, striking out three, walking two and allowing one earned run on one hit in 2.2 innings. Will Jones was credited with his second save of the year with one strikeout in one inning of relief.

FMU's Cody Dix (1-2) suffered the loss with two strikeouts, and two earned runs on two hits in one inning.

FMU took a 1-0 first inning lead on Connor Wessel's groundout that plated Casey Clauss, but Lander came back in the third to tie it at 1-all on John Mangum's groundout that scored Matt White.

Matt Rubino's two-run homer in the third gave FMU a 3-1 advantage, then the Patriots stretched it to 5-1 in the fourth when Zac Lenns went home on a throwing error and Clauss singled in Zach Callahan.

The Bearcats cut it to 5-2 in the sixth after White went home on a wild pitch, then tied it at 5-all in the eighth on Alex Conaway's three-run double.

After Francis Marion went up 6-5 in the eighth, Lander took a 7-6 lead on back-to-back homers by Hyatt and Lusignan in the ninth.

For Lander, White and Jones had two hits each.

In the second game, the Patriots' Daniel Barfield (3-0) was awarded the win after striking out six, walking two and allowing three earned runs on four hits in 7.2 innings.

Lander's Kyle Boraski (3-3) took the loss with one walk and five earned runs on four hits in two innings.

Lander jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first when Conaway went home on Thomas Berry's fielder's choice.

FMU answered with three runs in the second after Nicholas McGee stroked a three-run homer. The Patriots stretched their lead to 5-1 in the third on JD Crowe's two-run RBI single.

After the Patriots scored two more runs in the fourth when Lenns scored on a throwing error and Cole Morris' RBI single plate Clauss, the Bearcats answered with three runs in the fifth to cut the margin to 7-4. Mangum's double down the left field line plated Lusignan and Jones drove in White.

In the sixth, FMU extended the margin to 8-4 when Randy Loew went home on Clauss' groundout.

Lander added a run in the eighth after Weston Lawing scored on a throwing error, but FMU came back in the bottom half of the inning and made it 11-5 after Lowe went home on a fielding error and Crowe singled in Clauss.

For Lander, White had two hits.