Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College baseball team hopes to get revenge for an earlier loss this season when it visits Peach Belt Conference member Francis Marion University for a 7 p.m. game on Cormell Field at Sparrow Stadium.
The contest has been designated as Darlington Raceway night. There will be a give-away to each fan wearing NASCAR apparel to the game, and a Race Package will be given away during the game. Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for students.
For those not making the trip to Florence, S.C., Francis Marion sports information will provide live stats and free live video for Tuesday's game.
Barton baseball fans can follow the Bulldogs throughout the season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter and Facebook.
Barton College Baseball
The Bulldogs (8-20) faced the Patriots in Wilson on March 11, with Francis Marion claiming a 9-3 win. Barton hurt its own cause with five errors, and FMU pitching took a six-hit shutout into the final inning. Despite all that, the game remained a close 3-0 battle through six innings.
Dalton Gress had two hits for Francis Marion, with Michael Wilson, Zac Lenns and Casey Gebhardt producing two RBI each.
Junior Mitchell Wheeler had three of Barton's seven hits in that meeting, and senior Dillon Rudio drove in two of the Bulldogs' three runs.
Not much has changed since then. Wheeler continues to lead the club in hitting, batting .388, while Rudio paces the squad in RBI with 15. He also leads the team in runs (15), doubles (6), home runs (3) and walks (15).
Freshman Andrew Webster is second on the squad in both batting average (.324) and RBI (11), and leads the team in triples (2). Fellow freshman Tyler Garrett has a team-high seven steals.
As a team, Barton is hitting .231 with 71 runs scored this year (2.53 per game).
Sophomore Ricky Jernigan (0-4), who was tagged with the earlier loss to FMU despite allowing just five hits and two earned runs over seven innings, leads the Barton starters with a 2.94 ERA. In 33.2 innings, he has allowed 32 hits and 10 walks while striking out 14. The Bulldogs' other primary starters have been junior Brandon Warren (0-3, 4.60 ERA), junior Kyle Rufer (2-2, 5.06 ERA) and Duncan Everett (1-4, 5.35 ERA).
Junior reliever Mike Breen has half the team's eight pitching wins. Breen (4-1, 4.50) is striking out 7.2 batters per nine innings, the second-best ratio on the club behind closer Snooter Merryman, who has been nearly perfect in his five innings of work, giving up just one hit and striking out five in earning four saves.
Breen's latest win came last Saturday when he worked five innings of scoreless relief against Limestone College, giving up four hits and one walk while striking out four. His efforts were rewarded when Barton rallied for the 6-5 victory on a walk-off single by Rudio that snapped a five-game losing skid for the Bulldogs.
Barton's last visit to Francis Marion came in 2011, when the Patriots took a 12-1 decision. The Bulldogs have dropped four straight to FMU since a 4-3 win in Wilson in 2009, and are 14-24 all-time against the Patriots.
The Bulldogs are 2-9 in road games this season.
Francis Marion Baseball
The Patriots bring a 13-15 mark into Tuesday's contest, having lost three straight and six of eight since beating Barton two weeks ago. However, the six losses all came against nationally-ranked opponents, three to No. 9 Georgia College and three more over the weekend to No. 19 Columbus State.
In all, 12 of Francis Marion's 15 losses this year have occurred while facing nationally-ranked opponents. The Patriots are 10-3 against teams outside the Peach Belt Conference.
Senior Isaac Davenport leads the team with a .354 average and nine stolen bases. He has also scored 22 runs this year. Senior Michael Wilson is hitting .330 with 17 RBI and a team-high 26 runs scored.
Francis Marion has only hit seven home runs this season, and Wilson has two of them. The other five have been recorded by Gress (3) and senior Marquis Curry (2). Curry is also tied for the team lead in RBI with 20 and has six stolen bases in seven attempts.
Junior Zac Lenns also has 20 RBI, one of eight Patriots in double-figures in the category. The Patriots are averaging just under 6.5 runs per game and are batting .280 as a unit.
Sophomore left-hander Daniel Barfield leads the starting staff for Francis Marion with a 3-0 record and 4.08 ERA. In 28.2 innings, Barfield has given up 23 hits and 16 walks while striking out 27. Two other primary starters for FMU have been junior right-hander Jorday Santak (3-4, 5.23 ERA) and senior righty Spencer Jordan (2-3, 7.71 ERA). Six other pitchers have made at least one start each.
The Patriots have a solid closer in senior Jeffrey Stoner, who has a 1.46 ERA and three saves. He has struck out 17 batters in 12.1 innings.
As a group, FMU pitching has an ERA of 5.91. Opponents are hitting .291 against them.
Francis Marion is 11-9 this year at Sparrow Stadium.
