SALISBURY, N.C. – The No. 20 University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team lost a 5-4 decision at Catawba Wednesday evening in a non-conference contest.

The Pacers fall to 32-12 on the season while the Indians improve to 29-16 overall.

Head coach Kenny Thomas' team opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first.

After fouling off four pitches on a 3-2 count, Skylar Mercado was hit by a pitch. After advancing to second, he moved to third on a grounder to the right side of the infield. Zach Moon roped a double down the left field line to make it 1-0.

James Lynch got out of the first inning by registering back-to-back outs with a runner on second base. Catawba, however, knotted the score in the bottom of the second.

Lynch went back to work, retiring the side in order in the third stanza.

In the top of the fourth, Thomas' squad struck again when Jonathan Banks blasted a solo homer for a 2-1 margin.

The Pacers pushed their lead to 4-1 with a pair of runs in the fifth. Nile Goings drew a lead-off walk. A base on balls to Tyler Ammerman put runners on first and second.  After a pitching change, Mercado was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With one down, Pal ripped a single down the left field line, plating two for a three-run cushion.

Lynch continued his stellar pitching by retiring the side in order in the fifth and sixth frames. In fact, Lynch retired 14 straight batters before an error put a runner on first in the seventh inning.

The home team managed to score an unearned run in the seventh to make it 4-2. In the eighth, Trevor Hutto retired the first batter he faced, but the Indians managed to get the next two on base.

After a pitching change, Nick Jobst retired the first batter on a strikeout. However, he gave up a three-run homer.

Goings registered a one-out base hit. With two down, Joey Smithers drew a four-pitch walk, but USC Aiken was unable to register the game-tying run.

For the contest, Pal had a pair of hits and two RBI.

Lynch went six innings. He gave up just one hit and two runs, but only one was earned. Lynch did not get a decision in the contest.   

The Pacers return to action Friday when they open a weekend series at Flagler. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. Live stats, video and audio will be available at PacerSports.com.