Francis Marion University upsets University of South Carolina

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That I reckon is pretty big news. And a huge win to christen their new stadium!



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Says a lot about the competitiveness of D2 schools. I understand SC probably wasn't throwing one of their weekend starters, but Francis Marion probably wasn't either. I'd say it was definetely a big win. D2 has some pretty good teams.

FMU Pitchers: Broderick (WP), Sandifer, Hibbs, and Stoner USC Pitchers: Westmoreland (LP), Sullivan, Beal, Privette and Munson


Big win for sure....FMU jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the 3rd inning and never lost the lead. Beautiful Stadium too.

The loss was noted:

Kendall Rogers ‏ @KendallRogersPG Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
Here's an upset. Division II Francis Marion beats #SouthCarolina 5-4. Matt Broderick/Don Sandifer threw well for FMU. Yikes. Bad loss. #SEC

Congrats to FMU

No shocker. Peachbelt Conference has some very good teams that can compete for a game or short series with many a major D1 teams.

quote:

Originally posted by Prime9:

No shocker. Peachbelt Conference has some very good teams that can compete for a game or short series with many a major D1 teams.

Prime 9- I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. The Peach Belt is an outstanding conference and plays an incredibly high level of baseball. But I believe it is a shocker regardless, considering that SC has won the Division I National Championship two years in a row.

Having a few friends that have played/are playing at FMU, I have to say that I am incredibly pleased to hear of this result. This is obviously a great showing for Division II baseball and could potentially play a huge part in FMU's future recruiting efforts. However, in the end, it is a huge upset nonetheless.

I'm excited! My kid signed with them in November...

quote:

Originally posted by J H:

quote:

Originally posted by Prime9:

No shocker. Peachbelt Conference has some very good teams that can compete for a game or short series with many a major D1 teams.

Prime 9- I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. The Peach Belt is an outstanding conference and plays an incredibly high level of baseball. But I believe it is a shocker regardless, considering that SC has won the Division I National Championship two years in a row.

Having a few friends that have played/are playing at FMU, I have to say that I am incredibly pleased to hear of this result. This is obviously a great showing for Division II baseball and could potentially play a huge part in FMU's future recruiting efforts. However, in the end, it is a huge upset nonetheless.

Josh, it's just an upset. You've played the game; you are only as good as your pitching that day. They can all play defense and hit. Our D-II has a former USC pitcher, accompanied by his two Championship Rings, as their # 3 weekend starter this year. Yes, I said # 3, not 1 or 2 starter. As I said, in a game, or a short series, many top rated D-II teams can compete. I did not say they were "on par" with Major D1 SEC/ACC/PAC-10 contenders on an every day basis. I'm not shocked that Boston and New York lost their opening series or began 0-4 this year either. It is baseball and stranger things can and do happen every day!

When did D2 programs start playing against D1?

TPM,

I think it is a once in a while type thing. Miami played Barry for a game last year, as I recall it was a makeup game for Miami as they had an extra night open. There is nothing to be gained by a D1 as far as RPI in playing a D2.

It would be nice for son's D2 to play against the local/same city D1, but for the reason mentioned above, it never happens.

TPM....Maybe Columbia HS had a scheduling conflict. Major D1 teams fattening up on cupcakes (at home mostly) during the week and in February is commonplace. Every once in a while they will sneak in a D2 team. It was gracious of the coc ks to christen the new ballpark.

Maybe this article will provide a little insight into why Ray Tanner agreed to play this game.

http://www2.scnow.com/news/pee...all-2012-ar-2712293/


He said he didn't have anything to gain but it was good for baseball in SC. It was that alright. Very good for Francis Marion.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
When did D2 programs start playing against D1?

Tanner was being a "nice guy" and was helping out FM with the opening of their new facilities. Kind of like having Van Halen to play your birthday party in the basement.

.....and then Led Zepplin showed up. Sorry, had to say it. Great of all involved who arranged this game well over a year ago...great for FMU and shows USC is a class act by agreeing to play it.

Student newspaper

(snicker)

College of Charleston beat South Carolina Tuesday night. Wonder if they will keep scheduling these SCarolina schools?