FLORENCE, S.C. – The No. 5/8 University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team rattled off a 12-3 victory at Francis Marion Saturday afternoon in the Peach Belt Conference opener for both teams.

The Pacers are now 8-2 overall, including a 1-0 mark in league play.

Derek Beasley improved to 3-0 after working 5.1 innings of solid work. He struck out four and gave up five hits without allowing a run to cross.

For head coach Kenny Thomas, Ty Barkell paced the offense with a two-for-four performance that plated four. Tyler Moore and Grayson Smith each drove in two. Ben Donath and Moore had three hits apiece while T.J. Costen, Barkell, Smith and Sean Miller all had two hits.

After a scoreless first, Barkell doubled to lead the second off. He moved to third on a groundout and scored on Ryan Metzler's grounder. USC Aiken increased the lead to 2-0 when Costen singled home Kody Belcher.

In the fourth, Donath doubled and scored on Miller's RBI single. After Miller went to second, he scored on Moore's double for a 4-0 advantage.

Things continued to go the Pacers' way as Dylan Durham came in as a pinch runner in the seventh. He moved to second on a walk and stole third. Durham raced home, scoring on a wild pitch.

FMU scored three in the bottom of the seventh, but Thomas' team belted out four runs in the eighth. The big shot of the frame came off the bat of Barkell, who launched a three-run homer for the second straight weekend. Later in the inning, Smith singled home Donath.

USC Aiken added three in the ninth for the final tally. Moore's triple brought home Belcher. Barkell drove home Moore on a sacrifice fly. Smith's single plated Costen for the final run of the contest.

The Pacers return to action tomorrow for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.