FLORENCE, S.C. – In a match-up of two of the Peach Belt Conference's early undefeated teams, No. 18 (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Division II Top 30) Flagler College and Francis Marion University split a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Sparrow Stadium. The Patriots won the opener 7-4 while the Saints took game two 12-9 in 10 innings.

Flagler had its winning streak halted at nine games and is now 13-2 overall and 7-1 in the Peach Belt. Francis Marion had its five-game winning streak snapped and is now 9-4 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

In the second game, the Saints trailed 8-3 after five innings, but a late rally forced extra innings.

Flagler struck for a run in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by Jabe Molinaro and then erupted for a three-spot in the eighth to pull to within one run.

Lorenzo Butler had the big hit of the inning with a two-run double down the leftfield line. He later scored on a single by Skylar Fox.

Trailing 8-7 in the top of the ninth, Kolin McMillen got on with a one-out single. The next batter struck out which brought up Andrew Brodbeck. He worked a 2-2 count to full, and then drew a walk and represented the go-ahead run at first base.

Francis Marion reliever Ty Simpson continued to have control problems and walked Butler, on four pitches, to load the bases with two outs. Shawn Hendon followed by drawing a bases loaded walk and McMillen scored the tying run. Jeremiah Freeman (1-1), the Patriots' fourth pitcher of the game, came in to strikeout Fox to end the inning.

Saints' reliever MacLain Larson came on in the bottom of the ninth and retired the side in order to force extra innings.

Flagler sent 10 men to the plate in the 10^th and scored four runs on three hits. Nick Oberg drove in the go-ahead run with a single through the left side of the infield, with the bases loaded. The Saints got one run out of that at bat as each runner moved up a base. Two batters later, Butler supplied the insurance runs with a two-run single to give Flagler an 11-8 lead. Ryan Manore, another reliever for the Patriots, followed by walking the next batter, Todd Juliano to load the bases. That chased Manore from the game and FMU's sixth pitcher of the game, Shuler Ward, was brought in. He walked Fox with the bases loaded and the Flagler lead grew to 12-8.

Francis Marion got a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10^th, but that was all.

Larson (1-0) tossed two innings to earn his first collegiate win. He allowed three hits and one run. Mike O'Reilly started and tossed 2.1 innings before giving way to Michael Hanke (2.2 IP) and Nick Martinez (3 IP). Martinez made his first appearance of the season and tossed three scoreless innings. The freshman reliever only allowed two hits, walked one batter and struck another.

Butler paced the 13-hit attack for Flagler with a single, a double, four runs batted in a he scored a run. McMillen singled twice, knocked in a run and scored three runs. Oberg singled twice, scored twice and drove in a run. Dylan Jones and Bryce Evans also collected two singles.

Freeman tossed two-thirds of an inning, allowed one hit, two runs, walked a batter and struck out two. Jordy Santak started for the Patriots and lasted 6.2 innings.

Casey Clauss led Francis Marion's 15-hit attack with three singles and three RBI. He also stole two bases. Conner Wessel collected three singles and scored a run.

The first game lacked the excitement of the first game. Francis Marion was able to accomplish what three other teams could not. They chased Flagler starter Danny Brown (3-1) from the game and handed him his first loss of the season.

Matt Rubino got the Patriots started with a solo home run in the second inning and then they got an unearned run in the third.

Back-to-back RBI-doubles by Nicholas McGee and Zac Lenns in the fourth grew Francis Marion's lead to 4-0.

Brodbeck would cut the lead in half with a two-run home run in the sixth, but the Patriots got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning, again unearned.

JD Crowe knocked Brown from the game with an RBI-single in the seventh and later, Rubino hit a sacrifice fly.

Oberg and Igor Baez added RBI-doubles in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.

Matt Kelly (3-1) retired the first 11 batters he faced in route to a complete game outing. He scattered six hits and allowed four runs, walked two and struck out eight.

McGee went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and he scored a run. Ryan Miller hit a pair of doubles and scored a run.

Brown allowed nine hits and five earned runs in his 6.1 innings on the hill. He walked three and struck out three. Kyle Schackne tossed the remaining 1.2 in relief and allowed two hits and kept the Patriots off the board.

Brodbeck went 2-for-4 with the home run and two RBI.

The same two teams meet in the rubber game tomorrow (March 1) at 1 p.m.