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Box Score 3 SAVANNAH, Ga.--USC Aiken (37-16, 14-13 PBC) has its work cut out for it with one Peach Belt Conference series remaining in the 2005 regular season, but even after dropping two of three at #20 Armstrong Atlantic State (33-14, 13-13 PBC) over the weekend, the 11th ranked Pacers will be battling it out against Kennesaw State, Francis Marion, and AASU for the final three NCAA South Atlantic Regional berths. Second-ranked North Florida has a berth already locked up.
On Friday, Armstrong Atlantic State held off a USCA rally to take the series opener 4-3. After falling behind early in game one of Saturday's twinbill, the Pacers plated five in the fourth and two more in the fifth to claim an 8-3 advantage only to see the Pirates push across eight in the bottom of the fifth and hold on for the 12-10 win. USCA took control in game three and held of a last at-bat rally for the 5-4 victory. The win snapped the Pacers' longest losing streak of the season at five games.
For the three game series, USC Aiken outhit their opponents 36-29 and posted a 3.91 ERA compared to 5.76 for the Pirates, but the Pacers still came up short in the series' final tally. USCA entered the game ranked fourth in the South Atlantic region while AASU was fifth.
Sophomore centerfielder
Zach Cooper had a big weekend hitting .600 with a pair of doubles, four runs scored, and three RBI. Starting both games of Saturday's doubleheader at third base, junior
Ian Kowalchuk went 3-for-6 with his first double of the season and driving in his sixth run of the year.
Daniel Quartararo and
Robert Davis hit .455 and .429 respectively while
Casey Derhak had a big Saturday going 4-for-9 with five RBI and two runs scored.
On the mound, sophomore left hander
Jon Paul (5-2) picked up a win in his first conference start of the season. He went 6.2 innings scattering seven hits and one walk, striking out four and allowing four earned runs in the win.
Junior closer
Nick Wandless (9) came on to get the final out of the game and pick up his ninth save of the year. He needs just one more to tie Steve Lee's 12-year-old record for saves in a season at 10.
USC Aiken will host Lander University for a three-game series starting Wednesday, May 11 at 7:00 PM at Roberto Hernandez Stadium.
GAME ONE
#11 USC Aiken............000 001 020 - 3 8 1
#20 AASU.....................002 002 00x - 4 7 1
E - Joehnk(14); Recuenco. DP - Pirates 2. LOB - USC Aiken 5; Pirates 8. 2B - Quartararo(16); Cooper(4); Nunez. HBP - Pui; Bohannon. SH - Derhak(5); Hotzak. SF - Kinney(3). CS - Derhak(8); Lewis.
Boxscore
GAME TWO
#11 USC Aiken............100 520 011 - 10 18 3
#20 AASU.....................201 080 01x - 12 15 4
E - Quartararo(8); Kowalchuk(9); Claussen(4); Geiger(6); Pelley(10); Bohannon(5); Combs(5). DP - USC Aiken 1; Pirates 2. LOB - USC Aiken 11; Pirates 8. 2B - Derhak(13); Kowalchuk(1); Cooper(5); Geiger(9); Recuenco(13); Combs 2(4). HBP - Lewis. SH - Joehnk(10); Barenie(10); Kowalchuk(2); Recuenco(10); Pelley(11); Hotzak(11). CS - Barenie(5).
Boxscore
GAME THREE
#11 USC Aiken............110 201 0 - 5 10 0
#20 AASU.....................000 001 3 - 4 7 1
E - Geiger(7). DP - USC Aiken 1; Pirates 1. LOB - USC Aiken 6; Pirates 3. 2B - Barenie(7); Geiger(10); Recuenco(14). HR - Franklin(1). SH - Cooper(7); Recuenco(11). SB - Pui(17).
