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Box Score 2 AUGUSTA, GA. – The USC Aiken softball team dropped a pair of close non-conference games to rival and 10th-ranked Augusta State Monday afternoon at Jaguar Field. The Jaguars had to rely on a Jessica Thornton two-run home run to lift them to victory in eight innings in the first game to come out with the 4-3 victory and withstood a late Pacer surge in the second game to squeak out a 3-2 win.
Augusta State improves to 27-9 for the 2010 season while the Pacers fall to 13-16.
The Pacers were able to make both games interesting by never letting the Jaguars get ahead by more than two runs.
In the first game
Lindsey Jones (North Augusta, S.C./North Augusta) led off the top of the fourth inning by reaching base on an error by the shortstop with USC Aiken down 2-0. After another Jaguar error placed Kellie King (Chesterfield, S.C./Chesterfield) on base,
Blair Warren (Darlington, S.C./Florence-Darlington Tech) was able to capitalize on a third error, this time on the catcher who beamed Warren on her way to first while Jones crossed the dish.
With King on third base,
Whitney Clary (Newberry, S.C./Newberry HS) sent a hard hit ball to the second baseman who mishandled the ball trying to get it to the first baseman allowing King to score to bring the Pacers even with the Jaguars at 2-2.
Neither team could find the go-ahead run in the closing innings of regulation sending the game into extra innings. The Pacers started off the eighth inning with
Lauren Locklear in prime position on second due to the extra inning rule in softball.
Locklear (Charleston, S.C./Wando) advanced to third off the bat of Jones who grounded out to the first baseman. The designated player King was able to capitalize on Locklear's position by sending a sacrifice fly to deep center field to put the Pacers ahead 3-2, making it appear that the Pacers were on their way to an upset victory.
In a situation straight out of the movies, with the game on the line in the bottom of the eighth inning, Thornton stepped to the plate with two outs and one runner on ripping a ball deep over the right field fence to squeeze garner the 4-3 victory for the Jaguars.
Sara DeMuth took the win for the Jaguars on the mound striking out 11 batters in eight innings of work. She improves to 12-2 for the season.
Kathleen Nichols (Orange City, Fla./Daytona Beach) took the loss in the circle for USC Aiken fanning seven batters. She falls to 1-6 on the 2010 season.
The Pacers were able to take an early lead in the second game when Locklear sent a sacrifice fly to left field to score
Kellie Hair (Aiken, S.C./Aiken Tech) putting the Pacers up 1-0 in the top of the third inning.
The lead did not last long as Augusta State scored all three of their runs in the bottom of the inning off three hits.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Pacers attempted a come back led by multi-threat player
Toni Flessate who sent a ball to the left field fence for a double. She was able to score from second when freshman backstop
Nicole Borden (Jacksonville, Fla./The Bolles School) followed her lead with a single to left field cutting the Jaguar lead to just one at 3-2.
The Jaguars made a pitching change to hold on to the win. Despite a valiant effort that saw USC Aiken load the bases, the Pacers were unable to capitalize to earn the split.
Emily Corish earned the win for the Jaguars striking out just one batter while Kimberly Kennedy earned her third save of the year for Augusta State. Corish improves to 10-3 on the season.
Flessate (Goose Creek, S.C./Stratford) took the loss for the Pacers after fanning six batters. She moves to 6-7 for the 2010 campaign.
USC Aiken will jump back into conference play with a road doubleheader against league foe Georgia College & State on Wednesday, Mar. 24 in Milledgeville, Ga. The first pitch of the day is scheduled to leave the circle at 4 p.m. with the second game to follow immediately after at around 6 p.m.
