Box Score
AIKEN, S.C. – In a battle of top 20 teams, the 16th-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team fell 5-0 to 17th-ranked Francis Marion at Roberto Hernandez Stadium in its Peach Belt Conference opener on Saturday afternoon.
The loss was the first for USC Aiken (12-3, 0-1 PBC) in its last nine outings.
Don Sandifer (4-1) acquired the win on the hill for Francis Marion, pitching all nine innings and allowing just four Pacer hits.
Sandifer fanned 10 Pacers in the contest.
In what was a pitcher's duel for much of the contest, USC Aiken's Thomas McLeod (Chapin, S.C./Chapin) dealt seven innings, giving up four earned runs while striking out three.
McLeod is now 3-2 on the year.
Francis Marion (12-5, 1-0 PBC) in total out-hit USC Aiken 8-4 in the contest. No Pacer finished with multiple hits.
Martin Gordon and Tyler Boyd led the Patriots with two hits each.
USC Aiken and Francis Marion will conclude their PBC three-game set with a doubleheader at the 'Bert on Sunday, March 6. Game one is scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. The second game will begin shortly after the conclusion of game one.
