COLUMBUS, Ga. -- Fourth-seeded Augusta State pulled off an upset of top-seeded and Peach Belt Conference regular-season champion Francis Marion on Sunday afternoon in the opening round of the PBC Tournament, jumping out to an early lead before holding off the Patriots for an 11-9 victory at Golden Park.
With the victory, the Jaguars (22-28) advance in the winner's bracket to Monday's second round game against UNC Pembroke at 12:30 p.m., while Francis Marion (36-13) falls to the loser's bracket and will take on Georgia College in game five of the Championship on Monday morning at 9:00 a.m.
"It was a complete team effort all the way around," said Jaguar head coach Chris Cooper. "Scott was very effective and our hitters were really aggressive early in their at-bats. Getting ahead early was a big key too. We're in a great position and hopefully we can ride this momentum."
ASU jumped all over PBC Pitcher of the Year Don Sandifer in the first inning, stringing together four straight singles, including a single up the middle by Alex Walker to send Jake Sutton racing home to score the first run of the game.
After a sacrifice fly to centerfield by senior catcher Casey Hanrahan made it a 2-0 Jaguar lead, freshman third baseman Kevin Dodson guided a single to right field, plating two more runs and giving ASU a commanding 4-0 first-inning lead.
Preston Shuey plated a run for Francis Marion with a groundout in the bottom of the first inning, but the Jaguars were right back at it again in the second inning, loading the bases with a pair of hits and a walk before freshman right fielder Jeff Rice belted a grand slam to left field.
The long ball was the first home run for ASU since February 22, giving the Jaguars an 8-1 advantage. Rice, who earned second-team, Peach Belt All-Conference honors, hit his team-leading second homer of the year with the blast.
After the Jags added to their lead with a single run in the third inning and two more in the fourth frame, Francis Marion finally came alive with a run in the sixth frame and six more in the seventh inning to cut the ASU lead to just three at 11-8.
The six-run inning for the Patriots featured seven hits, including four straight singles to start the frame. Buddie Sosnoskie and Tyler Boyd capped the rally with RBI base knocks, while Rob Crosby came in out of the bullpen for the Jags and induced a double play to end the big inning.
FMU continued to chip away at the lead in the eighth inning with some two-out magic, using a Honeycutt double down the right field line to send Michael Wilson diving in at home under the tag to make it a two-run Jaguar advantage. The Patriots used a Sosnoskie leadoff triple in the ninth, but the junior was stranded as the Jaguars held on for the victory.
Senior first baseman Tristan Toorie had a career day at the plate for the Jags, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored, while Dodson added two hits in five trips to the plate, including two runs batted in.
Sophomore righthander Scott Shipman (8-2), a first-team, all-PBC selection, picked up the victory in 6.0 innings of work, giving up nine hits and five earned runs, while striking out five. Wilson Taylor tallied his fifth save of the year in 2.0 innings of work, giving up a run on two hits and recording one strikeout.
Sandifer (10-3) suffered the loss, lasting just 1.1 innings and allowing eight runs on as many hits, while walking one and striking out a pair.
ASU managed just 15 combined hits in three regular-season losses to Francis Marion, but came out firing early and ended the game with 15 hits in the two-run victory.
Peach Belt Tournament Website
