SAVANNAH, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken softball team (13-9) continued to struggle on the road as the Pacers dropped a pair of Peach Belt Conference games to the Pirates of Armstrong Atlantic State (14-3) 5-4 in both contests Thursday afternoon at Armstrong Atlantic State University Softball Field.

USC Aiken started the first game off strong as the Pacers went up 2-0 in the third inning as Brandy Bossle (North East, Md./Rising Sun) and Lauren Locklear (Charleston, S.C./Wando) both scored, but the Pirates tied the game in the sixth inning with a pair of their own runs.

The Pacers edged out to another two-run lead in the seventh inning when Whitney Clary (Newberry, S.C./Newberry HS) and Lydia Miles (Ridgeland, S.C./Thomas Heyward Academy) before Armstrong Atlantic State knotted the score again at four-all in the bottom of the inning. The Pirates would go on to claim the victory in the bottom of the eighth inning, pushing one run across to down the Pacers 5-4.

The Pacers started off strong in the second game after Kayla Denham (Palatka, Fla./Daytona State) and Locklear put USC Aiken ahead early off two doubles to go up 1-0 in the first inning.

The Pirates scored three in the bottom of the inning to go up 3-1 and then extended their lead to 4-1 in the next inning.

USC Aiken was able to swing the game's momentum back in favor of the Pacers in the top of the third inning when Denham, Kelley King (Chesterfield, S.C./Chesterfield) and Locklear all scored to knot the score at four.

Armstrong Atlantic would go back on top by one in the bottom of the inning at 5-4. It would prove to be all the Pirates would need to complete the sweep over the Pacers as neither team would score again through the final four innings.

Bossle was 2-for-3 with one run scored in the first game. Locklear was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored in the while King was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in the second game.

Kylee Knop (Oxford, Ga./Kirkwood) suffered both losses of the day in the circle for USC Aiken to fall to 2-5 for the year while Megan Barnwell improved to 10-1 after claiming the win in both games for Armstrong Atlantic.

The Pacers return home for a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday, March 12. USC Aiken will welcome the Saints of Limestone College for a pair of games with the first scheduled for 2 p.m. and the second game to follow shortly after the conclusion of the first.