MONTEVALLO, Ala. - Fresh off a No. 7 ranking in the Southeast Region, the University of South Carolina Aiken softball team swept Montevallo Wednesday evening by scores of 10-1 and 6-3.

The Pacers improve to 26-16 overall and 10-10 against conference competition.

A huge second inning and a dynamic performance by Taylor Morgan propelled head coach Jerry Snyder's team to the win in the opener.

Sarah Montei, Magan Thrower and Brielle Jungblut had two hits apiece in the first game while Samantha Chubb led everyone with four RBI. Jungblut crossed home a pair of times.

In the circle, Morgan was dominant in the five-inning game. She struck out 10 batters while walking just three and giving up a lone single. 

Thrower led off the second with a single down the left field line. Taylor Allen came in as a pinch runner and moved to second on Karly Kinard's bunt single. With one down, Andrea Daring singled up the middle to load the bases. 

Samantha Peka came in as a pinch runner for Daring and everyone walked to the next base when Julianne Leduc drew a base on balls. 

Jungblut singled in Kinard for a 2-0 edge. Montei kept things going with a base hit up the middle, plating Peka. With two down, Chubb launched a pitch to straight-away center field that cleared the wall for a grand slam and 7-0 lead. 

USC Aiken added a run in the third for an 8-0 score. Morgan led off with a single through the left side of the infield. She moved to second on a groundout by Daring before hustling to third on a passed ball. She raced home on Leduc's grounder for the score.

After Montevallo made it 8-1 in the bottom of the fourth, the Pacers were able to cut the game short via the run-rule in the fifth. 

Daring reached on a fielding error and moved to second on a grounder. Jungblut drew a walk and with two down, Murphy belted a double to center field, allowing the two base runners to score for the final 10-1 margin. 

Although the Falcons had a chance to cut into the deficit, Morgan forced a fly ball out before striking out the final two batters of the contest.

In the nightcap,Snyder's team continued its impressive hitting display. The squad pounded out six runs on 13 hits. Montei, Murphy and Price notched three hits apiece. Murphy led the way with a pair of RBI.

Chandler Terrapin worked 5.1 innings en route to picking up the victory. She gave up three runs on five hits while striking out seven. Lyndie Dorgan came in, working the final 1.2 frames. She struck out two and did not allow a run to close out the victory.

After a scoreless first two innings, the Pacers broke through in the third. With one down, Murphy crushed a solo homer. After Chubb reached on a fielding error, Thrower registered a base hit to left field. Peka came in as a pinch runner for Thrower and went to third when Price doubled in Chubb.

Terrapin beat out an infield single, scoring Peka. Andrea Daring followed her up with a sacrifice fly that scored Price for a 4-0 edge.

USC Aiken added a run in the fifth when Montei singled home Daring, who had reached on a double into the gap.

After the Falcons closed to within 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Snyder's team added an insurance run in the seventh when Murphy singled in Jungblut, who had reached on an infield base hit. 

The Pacers return to action Friday when they host UNC Pembroke at 2 p.m. Live stats, video and audio will be available at PacerSports.com. The doubleheader will be sponsored by Chick-fil-A Aiken. Fans have a chance to win several prizes throughout the day.