DUNCAN, S.C. – The Barton softball team (27-23) fell to No. 2 Francis Marion (47-4), 5-0, in an elimination contest Sunday afternoon at the Tyger River Complex.
The Patriots, the top seed in the tournament, defeated tenth-seeded Emmanuel (23-29) by a 7-4 score in an elimination game later in the day to advance to the finals on Monday.
Francis Marion will face the No. 8 seed North Greenville (35-19) in the finals on Monday beginning at Noon and would have to beat the Crusaders to claim the conference tournament championship crown.
The Patriots' Alyssa Poston (Hartsville, S.C.) improved to 25-2 on the season after throwing a three-hit shutout to go along with five strikeouts while Rylee Gray (Sewickley, Pa.) and Samantha Turnage (Pearl River, La.) both drove in a pair of runs in the victory.
Barton's
Emily Bobo (Mount Ephraim, N.J.) fell to 7-5 after suffering the loss. The Bulldogs are ninth ranked team in this week's NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Softball rankings. The NCAA Division II Tournament pairings will be announced this week.
