Francis Marion baseball stormed into Rome, Georgia, and walked away with its biggest sweep of the season, taking all three games from Shorter University, including a stunning ninth-inning rally in Friday’s opener and a Saturday power display from senior outfielder Austin Bunn. With the sweep, FMU has now won seven straight and surged to the top of the Conference Carolinas standings at 26-9 (15-6 CC).

Game One: Patriots Stun Hawks with Seven-Run Ninth

Down 9-6 with two outs in the ninth, Francis Marion delivered one of its most improbable comebacks in recent memory — a seven-run explosion that turned a near-certain loss into a 13-9 victory.

The ninth inning rally began with a sacrifice fly from senior Caleb Oakley to cut the deficit to 9-7. Then, with two outs and the tying run at the plate, senior DH Noah Stout roped a 2-run single up the middle to tie the game. A Shorter throwing error on a routine grounder brought home two more runs, and another wild return throw let freshman Adrian Nina score all the way from first. Before the Hawks could catch their breath, junior third baseman Jimmy Koza stole second and third, scoring when the throw to third went wild — capping a jaw-dropping seven-run swing.

Senior lefty Rijnaldo Euson slammed the door with a perfect ninth, and senior right-hander Danny Leo picked up the win with 1.1 scoreless innings.

Francis Marion built a 6-1 lead earlier in the game with a two-run homer from Bunn, an RBI single from catcher Dariel Villaran Goundis, and a three-run blast by Koza — his first as a Patriot. But a grand slam by Shorter’s Will Fincher in the fourth erased the advantage, and the Hawks added three more runs before FMU’s ninth-inning fireworks.

Game Two: Euson Shines, Bunn Homers in 7-0 Shutout

Game one of Saturday’s doubleheader saw senior southpaw Rijnaldo Euson dominate, tossing a complete-game shutout in FMU’s 7-0 win. The veteran lefty scattered seven hits, struck out nine, and needed 117 pitches to notch his eighth win of the year — second-most in Division II.

Offensively, FMU used another early burst to seize control. A first-inning sac fly by Oakley — the Patriots’ 29th of the season, tops in the nation — gave the visitors a 1-0 lead. Owen Taylor added an RBI single in the fourth, and Bunn crushed a three-run shot in the fifth to blow the game open. Charlie Bussey III followed with a two-run homer in the sixth to polish off the scoring.

Game Three: Bunn, Bussey Deliver Again in 8-6 Finale

The finale brought more drama, as Shorter briefly took a 4-2 lead in the second inning before FMU responded with a steady comeback.

Noah Stout jumpstarted the offense with a two-run homer in the second, and after Shorter’s four-run bottom half, the Patriots answered again in the fourth — capitalizing on two-out hits and a Shorter miscue to plate a run and close the gap to 4-3.

In the sixth, Bunn and Villaran Goundis singled, and a walk loaded the bases. Taylor’s RBI infield single tied the game at 4-4, and Bussey came through again with a two-run double to give FMU the lead. Bunn’s second homer of the day in the seventh extended the cushion to 8-4.

Though Shorter clawed two runs back in the bottom of the seventh, senior righty Daemon Woodruff entered to earn his first save of the season, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to seal the 8-6 win.

Bunn finished the doubleheader with four hits, two home runs, five RBIs, and four runs scored, continuing a red-hot stretch that’s made him one of the most dangerous bats in the lineup. Taylor added three hits and three RBIs, and Bussey drove in four more runs with three hits, including a homer.