FLORENCE, S.C. – Freshman
Tatum Brummitt had a career day at the plate and in the circle and the UNC Pembroke softball squad stranded 20 Francis Marion runners on base in an 8-2, 6-5 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) sweep on Thursday night at the FMU Softball Stadium in Florence.
The Braves (20-12, 2-6) are now winners of at least four-straight games for the second time this season and see a six-game league skid come to end on Thursday. UNCP improves to 9-3 away from home this season, compared to a 7-9 mark in Pembroke. The setbacks run the Patriots' (16-20, 2-10 PBC) current losing streak to three and the Florence natives have dropped seven of their last 10 games overall.
A quartet of Braves notched two hits in the game-one victory, including Brummitt and
Lexie Coxe, who each drove in a trio of runs as well.
Jamie Johnson went 2-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored and
Toni Nelson logged two doubles and a run scored. Coxe's fifth-inning triple was her first of the season and second of her career.
In the circle, sophomore
Malerie Leviner (7-5) registered her sixth complete game in 15 starts. She carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before allowing two runs on six hits in the final 2.1 innings. Leviner struck out two batters on 135 pitches and stranded 11 runners on base.
The Braves struck first in the top of the second when Brummitt drove home Johnson, who had led off the inning with a double to left. UNCP tacked on four more runs in the third on three hits before posting a two-spot in the fifth to take a 7-0 lead. After the hosts scratched across a run in the latter half of the fifth,
Kaitlynn Norton put the Black & Gold back up seven with a sixth-inning RBI single. The Patriots scored once in their last at-bat, but Leviner closed the door with a strikeout. Five of UNCP's eight runs were scored with two outs.
Brummitt followed up her two-hit outing in game one with three hits in the nightcap. The freshman drove in two runs and scored the eventual winning run by stealing home in the sixth inning after leading off with a triple. Johnson went 1-for-2 with an RBI, scored twice and drew a pair of walks. She matched her career high in RBIs with 30.
Sophomore
Raygan Larson (5-4) took over in the circle with one out in the first inning and tossed the next six frames to log her fifth victory. She allowed three runs on seven hits, while striking out three Patriots on 95 pitches. Brummitt took over with one out in the seventh and shut the door to pick up her first save of the season.
Four runs in the top of the third put the Black & Gold up 5-2 and the lead remained three until the fifth. Francis Marion pulled within one by scoring two runs in the fifth and added another run in the sixth, but not before Brummitt stole home in the top half for UNCP's sixth and final run. In the latter half of the seventh, the Patriots had runners on second and third with one out, but Brummitt induced a pair of fly outs to seal the victory.
The Braves are back in action on Monday when they head to the mountains of north Georgia to make up a rescheduled doubleheader with Young Harris. First pitch is set for noon at E.D. Rivers Field. The Mountain Lions (22-11, 6-2 PBC) are winners of three straight after snapping a three-game skid with a game-two victory over Georgia College on March 23. Young Harris leads the all-time series with UNCP by an 8-2 margin, including a 4-0 mark at home and six-straight victories in the series.
