AIKEN, S.C. – The No. 15 University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team scored four runs in the first and never looked back en route to a 17-4 victory over visiting Chowan Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 16-5 on the season.

With one down in the first, Tyler Moore swiped second and scored on T.J. Costen's single. Ty Barkell followed him up with a triple to right for a 2-0 score. Matt Bosse's grounder pushed the score to 3-0. After a double by Ryan Metzler, a walk to Ben Donath and Sean Miller reaching due to being hit by a pitch, Dylan Durham took one for the team as he was hit by a pitch, which scored Metzler.

Leading 4-1 in the bottom of the second, head coach Kenny Thomas' team put together four straight singles for a 7-1 lead. The big hit was Metzler's single, plating Barkell and Bosse.

With the score at 9-2 heading to the bottom of the fourth, the Pacers put the game away with five more runs. Donath walked and scampered to third on Miller's double. Durham was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Kody Belcher's fly ball pushed Donath across home. Two batters later, Costen singled to left, plating Miller and Durham.

The teams traded runs in the fifth as both squads plated two. USC Aiken made it 17-4 heading into the seventh when Corey Bryant laced a single to center field, scoring Grayson Smith.  

Adrian Rivero worked three innings, striking out three en route to earning the win. Sam Daniel, Brandon Sharpe, Randy Sipp, Roberto Hernandez Jr., Cole Lee and Jake Padgett all saw time on the mound in the victory.

At the plate, Costen tallied four hits, driving in four and scoring four. Barkell had three hits, three RBI and scored twice while Bosse added three RBI. Metzler and Bryant chipped in two apiece.

The Pacers return to action Friday in a doubleheader at Young Harris. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.