Box Score AIKEN, S.C.--USC Aiken (33-18) forced extra innings with two runs in the bottom of the ninth before Matt Key delivered a two-out RBI single in the tenth to plate Josh Eachues with the winning run as the 27th-ranked Pacers pulled out an 8-7 victory over visiting Pfeiffer (25-26) in non-conference baseball action Tuesday night at Roberto Hernandez Stadium. With the win, USCA improves to 1-9 when trailing after eight innings and ends a three-game losing streak. 

Trailing 7-5 entering the bottom of the ninth, USCA got a pinch-hit single from Nick Ogurchak to lead off the frame. Key pinch-ran for Ogurchak and advanced to second on a groundout. Senior Zach Cooper then shot a single through the left side of the infield to put runners on the corners. Fellow senior Darryl Pui drove in Key with a single to cut the lead to one. Senior Ben Tankersley followed with a bunt single and Cooper scored the tying run. 

After sophomore Beau Hill (6-4) worked around a couple of two-out hits in the top half of the 10th, the Pacer offense went to work again. After a one-out single from Ken Raborn, Eachues grounded into a fielder's choice for the second out of the inning. A wild pitch allowed Eachues to reach scoring position, setting the stage for Key's dramatics. The left-hand hitting freshman deposited a 2-2 pitch into left-center field, and Eachues crossed the plate with the game-winning run. 

The late offense from the Pacers rewarded Hill for his brilliant pitching. The sophomore, struggling of late as a starter, silenced the Pfeiffer bats in relief, working four innings and allowing just three hits and no runs while striking out three. 

Pfeiffer broke a scoreless tie with five runs off USCA starter Gary Lee in the third inning. The Falcons pounded out six hits in the inning, getting an RBI each from Bryan Braxton, Zach Pou, Justin Ridenhour, and Haynes Hinson. 

The Pacers slowly cut into the Falcon lead, scoring a run in the third on a Tankersley sacrifice fly, another in the fourth on Chris Sheehan's 11th home run of the season, and two more in the fifth on a two-out two-RBI double from Chad Jacobsen. 

A single run in both the sixth and seventh innings for Pfeiffer extended their lead out to three at 7-4, but another RBI from Tankersley in the seventh left the game at 7-5, where it stood until the hosts' late-inning heroics. 

Nine different Pacers collected at least one hit as part of a 15-hit barrage. Five USCA seniors, playing in their final home series, had multi-hit games, as Cooper went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, and Pui, Tankersley, Sheehan, and Marc Joehnk all added two hits. Tankersley drove in three runs while Jacobsen added to his Peach Belt Conference lead with two RBI. 

Both teams will be back at it again on Wednesday afternoon for the series finale. The game, which will serve as Senior Day as the Pacers will honor nine seniors, is slated for a 12:00 PM opening pitch.
Pfeiffer................. 005 001 100 0 - 7 14 3
USC Aiken............ 001 120 102 1 - 8 15 1
Note: 2 outs, 1 runner LOB when the game ended.

Win – Hill (6-4); Loss – Russell (3-4)

E - B.Braxton(4); Z.Pou(4); T.Smith(4); Cooper(2). LOB - Falcons 8; Pacers 6. 2B -
T.Smith(5); Jacobsen(21); Cooper(10). HR - B.Braxton(8); Sheehan(11). SH -J.Ridenhour(9); R.Brown(10). SF - Tankersley(5). SB - R.Harju(9); Pui(17); Tankersley(16). CS - Pui(4); Eachues(6); Franklin(1).