Jennifer Jones hit her first home run of the season, but Mount Olive fell to Francis Marion 5-2 in game one of a non-conference softball doubleheader Saturday at Florence, S.C. Jones homered in the fifth inning and scored the Trojans' other run in the seventh. In the nightcap, the Trojans scored five unanswered runs after falling behind early and won 5-2.
Jones continued her hot hitting in the nightcap, delivering two of the team's five hits and slamming a two-run double in the decisive sixth inning.
Mount Olive (4-2) fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the first when the Patriots (6-2) got a sacrifice fly, then took advantage of a Trojan miscue. Mount Olive hurler Carly White (2-0) limited the damage, then shutdown Francis Marion the rest of the way on just one hit. She finished with four strikeouts and just one walk.
The Trojans' offense, however, managed nothing off Patriot hurler Katie Barnes until the third inning when Mount Olive came alive. Jesse Crist led off with a single, then moved to second when Beth Overman walked. After a wild pitch, Katie Moore slapped a single to trim the deficit to one. Jones then tied the game on a fielder's choice.
The score remained deadlocked until the sixth when the Trojans took command. Kassie Lowe was hit by a pitch to start the inning and pinch-runner Savannah Becker took second on a bunt single by Lauren McGrath. Crist bunted the runners into scoring position, but a popout threatened to ruin Mount Olive's rally. With two outs, however, Overman reached on an error, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Jones followed with a two-run double to left-center.
White retired the final 11 batters she faced to record her second win of the season.
In the opener, Mount Olive managed just four hits against the Patriots' Taylor Luff.