FLORENCE, S.C. --- Francis Marion's Owen Taylor recorded seven RBI on the afternoon as the Patriots swept a non-conference doubleheader over visiting Tusculum Saturday afternoon at Sparrow Stadium.
FMU (3-0) won by scores of 14-1 and 11-5 to complete the weekend sweep over the Pioneers (0-3).
Game 1: Francis Marion 14, Tusculum 1
Francis Marion amassed 16 hits and plated nine runs in the fifth inning en route to a 14-1 victory in Saturday's opener.
The Patriots got two-hit performances from seven different players, while the pitching duo of Robbie Jordan and Clayton Stewart limited the Pioneers to one run on three hits. Jordan (1-0) went five innings where he allowed one run on three hits with a walk and four strikeouts. Stewart pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts.
FMU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to Will Dorrell's RBI double. Tusculum tied the game in the top of the second when Omar Carreras led off with a triple and scored on Jake Absher's sacrifice fly.
The Patriots broke the deadlock in the bottom of the frame when Austin Bunn led off with a solo homer down the left field line and a 2-1 FMU lead.
Francis Marion tacked on three more runs in the fourth to make it a 5-1 score. FMU tallied three hits including a RBI single from Caleb Oakley and a run-scoring double off the bat of Dariel Villaran Goundis.
The Patriots broke the game wide open in the fifth as 13 batters went to the plate scoring nine runs on six hits three walks and two hit batters. Taylor and Oakley each had two-run singles in the frame, while Charlie Bussey III accounted for a two-run double.
TU centerfielder Landon Dockery was responsible for two of Tusculum's three hits. TU starting pitcher Phillip Miller suffered the loss as he went 3.2 innings in his Pioneer debut.
Game 2: Francis Marion 11, Tusculum 5
Owen Taylor drove in four runs while Will Dorrell added three RBI as the Patriots rallied to an 11-5 win in the weekend finale over Tusculum.
Tusculum jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but a pair of five-run innings spotted the Patriots to an 11-3 advantage as they would go on for the victory.
TU out-hit Francis Marion 10-8 with veterans Ben Scartz and Max Schmarder coming away with two-hit performances.
Scartz got the scoring started in the first inning with his one-out double and later scored on Carreras' single. TU made 2-0 when Schmarder led off with a solo home run to left. Francis Marion cut the deficit in half with a run in the second. Bunn doubled to left field and later crossed the plate on Taylor's sacrifice fly to trail 2-1.
Tusculum scored a run in the top of the fourth as Luis Reyes tripled down the right field line and scored on Jack Gagen's RBI ground out.
Trailing 3-1, Francis Marion took advantage to two Tusculum errors in the fourth and scored five times to take a 6-3 lead. FMU also got four hits in the frame but the two TU miscues proved costly with four of the five runs being unearned.
Five more Patriots would score in the fifth frame thanks to one hit, four walks and a Tusculum error as FMU stretched the lead to 11-3.
Tusculum answered with a pair of runs in the sixth inning as Connor Jurek led off with a double and scored on Schmarder's RBI single. Gagen would come through with his second RBI of the game with his double down the left field line.
The FMU pitching duo of Daniel Barcena and Daemon Woodruff would blank the Pioneers for the final three innings, limiting TU to three walks.
Braxton Elms IV picked up the victory in the relief for the Patriots, while TU starter Brice Anders suffered the loss.
Tusculum freshman Cooper Emery pitched four strong innings in his collegiate debut. Emery allowed one unearned run, one hit, one walk and posted four strikeouts.
Reaching base safely in both games Saturday, Carreras extends his streak to 13 consecutive games, dating back to last year.
The Pioneers will open at home next weekend when they host Illinois Springfield for a four-game series beginning with Friday's home opener at 3 p.m. from Pioneer Park.
