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Box Score 2 FLORENCE, S.C. – The nationally 14th-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team split a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader with No. 8 Francis Marion on Saturday at Cormell Field at Sparrow Stadium.
Francis Marion (33-14, 19-10 PBC) earned a narrow 4-3 win in game one before USC Aiken picked up a dominating 8-1 win in the second game.
The victory in the second game concludes USC Aiken's 2012 Peach Belt Conference campaign with the Pacers owning an 18-12 record. The Pacers are now 31-16 overall.
USC Aiken is assured of a spot in the 2012 Peach Belt Conference Baseball Tournament, which will be contested May 9-13 at Golden Park in Columbus, Ga. Seeding for the 2012 Peach Belt Conference Baseball Tournament will be announced after the conclusion of the Peach Belt Conference regular season on Monday, April 30.
Francis Marion was able to score first in game one in the bottom half of the first inning.
The Pacers evened the contest at 1-all in the top of the third stanza. Tyler Bourdo (Evans, Ga./Truett-McConnell College) set things in motion for USC Aiken in the inning by being walked. JJ Loker (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) then singled to centerfield to move Bourdo over to third.
Bryce Baur (Moncks Corner, S.C./Florence-Darlington Tech) then took advantage of the situation by hitting a two-out single to bring in Bourdo and square things in the contest.
Francis Marion would take the lead back once again at 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Jarrod Reed singled in a run. Francis Marion would go on to add a run each in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to take a 4-1 lead.
The Pacers then began to battle back over the next couple of innings, plating a run each in the top of the seventh and eighth innings.
The two runs would prove to fall just shy as the Pacers could not get anything going offensively in the top of the ninth.
USC Aiken concluded the game one loss to Francis Marion with a narrow 9-8 advantage in hits.
Stephen Carmon (Camden, S.C./Camden) and Loker were the only two Pacers with multiple hits in the game with each claiming two. Carmon also had an RBI.
Reed led Francis Marion in the first game with three hits.
Wyatt Brown (6-2) pitched all nine innings in the contest for USC Aiken. Brown (Suwanee, Ga./Middle Georgia) allowed eight hits and three earned runs in his complete-game loss. He struck out one.
Gary Ashcraft remained perfect in the 2012 season for Francis Marion with his win on the hill in game one. Ashcraft (5-0) allowed five hits and two runs.
Jeffrey Stoner picked up the save for the Patriots by dealing the final 2.2 innings of the contest. He now has six saves on the year.
In the second game, USC Aiken plated the first three runs of the game in the top of the fourth stanza.
Ty Barkell (Denver, Colo./Palmer Ridge) scored the first run of the inning for USC Aiken when he doubled in Josh Miller (Chapin, S.C./Chapin). Bill Gerstenslager (Solon, Ohio/Mercyhurst) then singled in Nick Aranas (Lexington, S.C./Lexington) to give the Pacers a 2-0 lead.
Bourdo acquired the third run of the frame for USC Aiken when he singled in Barkell.
One inning later, USC Aiken was able to place two more runs on the board. Aranas grounded out to the Francis Marion shortstop to score Carmon to obtain the first run of the fifth for USC Aiken.
Barkell then doubled down the left field line to score Miller for the second consecutive inning.
Two innings later in the top of the seventh, Barkell once again doubled in a run to garner the Pacers a 6-0 advantage.
The Pacers would tack on their final two runs of the game in the top of the ninth. Will Tankersley (Thomson, Ga./Thomson) scored the first run of the inning for USC Aiken by blasting a home run to left centerfield.
Barkell led the Pacers at the dish in game two. He was 4-for-5 with three RBIs and one run scored. He had three doubles in the game.
Tankersley and Adam Anderson (Boulder, Colo./Trinidad State JC) both ended the Pacer win with three hits. Tankersley scored two runs while also collecting an RBI.
Luke Tollison was the top performer for Francis Marion in game two. He had three hits.
USC Aiken overall finished with a 15-8 advantage in hits in game two.
Kelly Holt (Stockbridge, Ga./Middle Georgia) picked up the win on the hill for USC Aiken in game two. Holt (4-4) pitched six innings, striking out six.
Matt Broderick (7-2) took the loss for Francis Marion in game two on the hill. Broderick pitched the first four innings of the game, allowing five earned runs.
USC Aiken will next welcome 10th-ranked Catawba to Roberto Hernandez Stadium for a two-game non-conference series.
The two-game series will begin with a 7 p.m. game on Friday, April 27.
The two nationally-ranked foes will then close the two-game set with 2 p.m. game on Saturday, April 28. The Saturday game against Catawba will serve as Senior Day for the Pacers.
