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Box Score 2 SAVANNAH, Ga. – The nationally 17th-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State baseball team took both games of a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader from national No. 3 USC Aiken on Sunday afternoon at Pirate Field.
Armstrong (27-9, 13-8 PBC) garnered a hard fought 12-11 win in game one before taking a 7-3 victory in the second game.
Armstrong scored the first six runs of the contest in game one before Josh Miller placed the Pacers on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning with a home run to left field.
Armstrong would tack on one more in the third to go ahead 7-1.
In the top of the sixth inning the complexion of the contest completely changed with USC Aiken (26-12, 15-9 PBC) plating six runs to even the game at 7-all.
Will Tankersley (Thomson, Ga./Thomson) started the inning with a double. Bill Gerstenslager (Solon, Ohio/Mercyhurst) then brought him home for the Pacers' second run of the contest.
A couple batters later the bases were jammed for USC Aiken. Stephen Bellantoni (Oviedo, Fla./Lake Sumter CC) took advantage, singling in Gerstenslager.
Stephen Carmon (Camden, S.C./Camden) and Miller (Chapin, S.C./Chapin) then brought in two more runs to pull the Pacers within two at 7-5.
With two outs on the board, Tyler Bourdo (Evans, Ga./Truett-McConnell College) then singled up the middle to tie the game by scoring Miller and Bellantoni.
Armstrong was not deterred by the Pacer half of the sixth with the Pirates scoring four runs in the bottom portion of the frame to take the lead back at 11-7.
USC Aiken would be down 12-8 entering the top of the ninth.
The Pacers would not go down without a fight with the Pacers scoring three runs in the inning.
In the end, the Pacers' efforts would fall just shy in the narrow one-run loss.
USC Aiken ended the contest outhitting Armstrong, 22-15.
Carmon led the way for the Pacers in the first game by tying the school record for most hits in a single game with five. Carmon was 5-for-6 in game one.
Three Armstrong players concluded their game one win with three hits each.
R.J. Dennard had three hits and four RBIs in game one for Armstrong.
One of three Armstrong pitchers in the game, Chess Malone (1-1) claimed the win on the hill in game one. Ethan Bader claimed the save for the Pirates.
The Pacers used four pitchers in game one with Thomas McLeod (Chapin, S.C./Chapin) suffering the loss. McLeod struck out three in his four innings on the mound. He is now 2-1 on the year.
In the second game, Armstrong once again scored first.
The Pirates owned a 2-0 lead after three innings, but USC Aiken cut the lead in half with a run in the top of the fourth.
Carmon started the fourth for USC Aiken by being walked. After stealing second, Carmon was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Miller.
Carmon found his way home next on a wild pitch by Bader, who was the starting pitcher in game two after securing the save in the first game on Sunday.
That would be as close as the Pacers would be able to get in the contest with Armstrong pulling away for the 7-3 win.
Armstrong out-hit USC Aiken, 12-5, in Sunday's second game.
Miller was the only Pacer with multiple hits in game two with two.
Dennard and Drew Walker led the Pirates with two hits each.
Bader claimed the win on the hill in game two to move to 8-3 on the season. Malone picked up the save.
Derek Beasley (Harlem, Ga./Harlem) dropped to 6-3 on the year for USC Aiken with his loss on the hill in game two. He struck out six.
USC Aiken will next travel to Salisbury, N.C. to face off against nationally 16th-ranked Catawba at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 11.
