Box Score AUGUSTA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team went into Sunday's Peach Belt Conference rubber-game against rival Augusta State needing a solid showing, and the Pacers gave head coach Kenny Thomas just that led by Stephen Carmon's three RBIs and a fourth inning home run to down the Jaguars 4-0 at Jaguar Field.
USC Aiken (22-16, 6-12 PBC) out-hit ASU (18-24, 9-12 PBC) 9-6 to register the key PBC matchup.
Harlem, Ga. native Derek Beasley (Harlem, Ga./Harlem) pitched seven solid innings in front of his hometown crowd, going seven innings with five batters retired to record the win and improve to 4-3.
Wilson Taylor claimed the loss on the mound for the Jaguars to move to 3-2 after giving up two earned runs in his six innings of work.
After Carmon (Camden, S.C./Camden) knocked his second home run of the season over the right field wall in the fourth inning, the Pacers slowly began to open up their lead with one run in the sixth and two more in the ninth to secure the victory.
Carmon doubled in the ninth to score Adam Spires (Gilbert, S.C./Gilbert) and Stephen Bellantoni (Oviedo, Fla./Lake Sumter) to seal the series over the Jaguars and keep the Pacers in the hunt for a spot in the 2011 PBC Baseball Tournament.
Carmon and Bellantoni both went 2-for-4 at the plate as Carmon had three RBIs and one runs scored compliments of his fourth-inning tater. Bellantoni added his one run in the ninth inning.
USC Aiken will next return home on Tuesday, April 12 for a single non-conference game against the Knights of St. Andrews. The Pacers and Knights will square off at 6:30 p.m. at Roberto Hernandez Stadium.
