AIKEN, S.C. – The nationally fifth-ranked University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team bounced back from its first loss of the 2013 season to claim a 6-0 shutout victory over Carson-Newman on Saturday afternoon at Roberto Hernandez Stadium.

The shutout victory was the second shutout win for the Pacers in their last three games. USC Aiken (4-1) also downed Lincoln Memorial, 2-0, in their series finale on Sunday, Feb. 3.

USC Aiken and Carson-Newman (3-3) will play the rubber game of their three-game series at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 10 at the 'Bert. USC Aiken is looking for its second straight series victory to start the year in the contest. The Pacers opened their 2013 season by sweeping Lincoln Memorial.

In USC Aiken's shutout win over Carson-Newman on Saturday, the Pacers basically flipped the script completely from Carson-Newman's 8-0 upset win over the Pacers in the series opener on Friday, Feb. 8.

USC Aiken opened its 6-0 win over the Eagles on Saturday by plating three runs in the bottom of the second inning.

The Pacers would add another run in the bottom of the fourth when Ryan Metzler (Glen Burnie, Md./Siena) hit a home run to kick off the inning.

After adding another run in the bottom of the fifth inning, USC Aiken closed out its scoring on the day when Grayson Smith (Aiken, S.C./Mercer) hit a solo dinger in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Smith was one of two Pacers to finish their day with three hits. Smith was a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate. He had two RBIs to go along with two runs scored.

Bryce Baur (Moncks Corner, S.C./Florence-Darlington Tech) concluded his afternoon by going 3-for-4 with an RBI.

In total, USC Aiken out-hit Carson-Newman, 10-4, in the game. Six different Pacers recorded at least one hit in the game.

Four different Eagles claimed a hit in the Pacer win.

USC Aiken starting pitcher Derek Beasley (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) put together a gem on the mound in the game. He pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven while only allowing three hits.

Three Pacers pitched in total in the game with the trio of Beasley (1-0), Ben Black (Augusta, Ga./Lakeside HS) and Taylor Grover (North Augusta, S.C./Midland Valley HS) combining to strike out nine Eagles.

Carson-Newman starter Alex Britt (0-1) took the loss on the hill. He pitched 4.1 innings, striking out four.