Game One
Game Two
AIKEN, S.C. – The seventh-ranked USC Aiken baseball team
split their conference doubleheader with Peach Belt Conference West
division leader 19th-ranked Georgia College & State
on Saturday evening at Roberto Hernandez Stadium. The Pacers took
the first game of the top 20 doubleheader showdown 7-5 while the
Bobcats laid claim to the second game 8-1.
Georgia College moves to 16-10 overall and they are now 8-3 in
conference action.
USC Aiken improves to 22-9 overall and find themselves 11-3 in
PBC play.
GCSU went up 2-0 early in the first game when Richard Pirkle and
Chandler Snell crossed the plate in the second and third innings.
USC Aiken was able to get one run back in the bottom of the
third inning when Bill Rice (Sewell, N.J./Gloucester County) scored
off a strike up the middle by Nick Aranas (Lexington,
S.C./Lexington) to bring the score to 2-1.
The Pacers mounted a comeback charge in the bottom of the sixth
inning when sophomore left fielder Jowan Gray (Aiken, S.C./South
Aiken) laced a ball down the right side for a triple. Gary Asbill
(Batesburg, S.C./Batesburg-Leesville) and David Vitko both crossed
the plate on the play to put the Pacers up 3-2.
The Bobcats began a comeback of their own in the top of the
eighth inning when Kyle Allen and Snell crossed the plate off a
ball hit up the middle by Sean Harrell to put the Bobcats up 4-3.
Harrell put the Bobcats up by two when he crossed the plate off
the bat of Matt Pitts who sent a single grounder to left field.
The bottom of the eighth inning saw the Pacers rise up once more
to take a 7-5 lead and the eventual win off five hits. Designated
hitter Will Fulmer opened the scoring drive by sending a 2-2 pitch
well over the left-center wall to pull the Pacers within one of the
Bobcats at 5-4.
Gray followed up by ripping a line drive down the leftfield foul
line for a double. He moved over to third when sophomore Stephen
Carmon (Camden, S.C./Camden) sent a single just out of reach of the
first baseman.
Franklin reached base safely a few moments later on a
fielder's choice that saw Carmon out at second base while
Gray crossed the dish to even the score at 5-5.
Rice hit a single to right-center field to move Franklin over to
third base and then advanced into scoring position at second.
Slugger Howard drove Franklin and Rice home with a shot to
shallow leftfield to put the Pacers back out in front for good at
7-5.
Despite a stout showing in seven full innings that saw Steven
Owens (Sykesville, Md./Richmond) fan nine batters, Tyler Stephan
(Louisville, Ky./Trinity) earned the win on the mound for the
Pacers. Chad Benefield (Dallasm Ga./Southern Union) earned the save
for the game with a glove-save-and-a-beauty catch of a line drive
to end the game.
David Vitko (Columbiana, Ohio/Youngstown State) crossed the dish
first for the Pacers in the second game when Carmon grounded out to
the second baseman. Vitko led off with a triple to deep
right-center field.
The Bobcats took the lead in the top of the fifth inning and
never looked back going on a seven-run scoring drive over the next
three innings to put themselves up on USC Aiken 7-1. Snell crossed
the dish twice and drove in another two runs over the course of the
three-inning drive.
Georgia College put the exclamation point on the game when
Benton Yaun crossed the plate in the top of the ninth to put the
game well out of reach for the Pacers at 8-1.
Martin Dewald earned the win for the Georgia College & State
after pitching the complete game, fanning eight batters. He
improves to 6-1 on the season.
Thomas McLeod (Chapin, S.C./Chapin) suffered the loss for the
Pacers after just over five innings pitched. He falls to 3-3 for
the 2010 campaign.
The Pacers will put the cap on their three-game series with the
Bobcats on Sunday afternoon. The game has been pushed back and is
now slated to start at high noon (12 p.m.) due to the threat of
inclement weather that is expected to move into the area later in
the afternoon.
