AUGUSTA, Ga. – The No. 17 University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team earned the three-game sweep of rival GRU Augusta with a hard-fought 2-1 victory Sunday afternoon.

The Pacers improve to 30-10 on the season, including a 16-8 effort against Peach Belt Conference competition.

Taylor Peed worked seven innings of five-hit ball en route to earning the win. He struck out five and did not allow a walk while surrendering just one run. None of the five hits he gave up went for extra bases. Ben Black worked a scoreless eighth, giving up just two hits. James Lynch came in for head coach Kenny Thomas in the ninth and picked up his fourth save of the season after retiring all three batters he faced in order.

After a scoreless first inning, Ty Barkell led off the second stanza with a single through the right side of the infield. Ryan Metzler's base hit put runners on first and second. Matt Bosse's deep fly ball allowed both runners to move up 90 feet, but USC Aiken was unable to plate either, rendering the contest scoreless through two stanzas.

The Pacers were unable to have another base runner until the fifth when Ben Donath drew a walk with one down. After the second out of the inning, Donath scampered into scoring position on a wild pitch. However, Thomas' team was not able to score him.

In the sixth, USC Aiken broke the scoreless draw. Kody Belcher led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on Tyler Moore's well-played sacrifice bunt. Belcher was able to trot home as T.J. Costen blasted his ninth homer of the season, moving him into second place in the PBC. His two RBI put him into a tie for first in the conference with 53 on the season.

Charles Padilla found his way into scoring position in the seventh after a single and a sacrifice bunt, but he was left stranded after a fly ball ended the inning.

Black came in for Peed in the eighth and allowed back-to-back hits after a lead-off groundout. However, he managed to get the next two batters out, keeping the Pacers on top heading into the final inning.

Although USC Aiken was unable to add to the lead in the ninth, Lynch entered the game and promptly sent all three Jaguars back to the bench, guiding the Thomas' team to the victory.

The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they step out of conference competition and host Newberry. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.