Box Score PEMBROKE, N.C. – The No. 6 University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team plated two runs in the 10th inning to defeat UNC Pembroke 11-9 Friday afternoon.
The Pacers improve to 27-6 overall, including 17-5 against conference competition. The Braves fall to 23-10 overall and 9-7 against league foes.
Head coach Kenny Thomas' team jumped on top of the Braves in the second frame. After going down in order in the first, Zach Moon broke the scoreless draw with a homer over the left field fence for a 1-0 advantage.
The Braves tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame, but USC Aiken regained its one-run advantage in the third inning. Nile Goings led off the frame with a single to left and moved to third after a wild pitch. With one down, Skylar Mercado's groundout to the right side of the infield allowed Goings to race home for a 2-1 lead.
After UNC Pembroke tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third, USC Aiken plated four runs via the long ball in the fourth.
With one down, Moon launched his second round-tripper of the day on the first pitch he saw, making it a 3-2 game. Max Schoen was hit by a pitch but was able to take his time coming home after Mitchell Price registered a two-run homer for a 5-2 margin. After the squad made its second out, Goings blasted a shot over the fence for a 6-2 lead. The three round-trippers in the inning tied the PBC record, marking just the fourth time it had ever been accomplished.
Price led off the sixth with a double down the left field line. He promptly stole third and eventually scored on a wild pitch for a 7-3 advantage.
UNCP scored two runs in the sixth before plating three in the seventh for an 8-7 advantage. However, Thomas' team battled back, tying the game in the eighth stanza when Price garnered a lead-off homer over the left field fence on a 3-1 count.
The Braves regained the lead with a run in the ninth, but USC Aiken continued to battle. With one down, Chaz Pal got into the long-ball affair by blasting a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall to make it 9-9.
Prince led off the 10th with a single through the left side of the infield. David Lankster laid down an excellent sacrifice bunt to put Price on second. Goings beat out a shot to the shortstop to put runners on the corners before Tyler Ammerman singled to left to score Price. Pal's double plated Goings for an insurance run.
Nick Jobst worked the final two innings to secure the win. He struck out three while giving up just one hit.
For the game, Price led the team with four hits. Ammerman, Goings and Pal all notched three hits apiece while Moon and Parreira garnered two hits apiece. Price drove in three runs while Moon and Pal had two RBI apiece. Price crossed home plate four times while Goings did three times.
The Pacers return to action tomorrow at UNC Pembroke at 3 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
