AUGUSTA, Ga. – The No. 5 University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team lost an 8-6 decision to Augusta Friday evening in a Peach Belt Conference contest.

The Pacers are now 30-7 on the year, including a 19-6 mark against league foes. The Jaguars improve to 25-11 on the year and 14-5 against conference competition.

Although the contest was scoreless through the first two frames, head coach Kenny Thomas' squad jumped on top in the third. With one down, David Lankster singled to right and hustled to third on a base knock from Tyler Ammerman. Two batters later, Chaz Pal ripped a double down the right field line, allowing Lankster to cross home.

After Augusta plated two runs in the bottom of the stanza, USC Aiken went back to work in the fourth.  Zach Moon singled to center field to lead off the inning and moved to second on a grounder. Mitchell Price roped a single to right field and advanced on the throw, putting runners on second and third. Nile Goings quicly brought both Pacers home with an opposite field single, making it 3-2.

The Jaguars scored six runs in the fifth inning for an 8-3 lead thanks in part to an error.

Thomas' team made it 8-4 in the sixth stanza. With one down, Price singled and moved to second on a grounder. With two down, he hustled home on Lankster's single.

The visitors made it 8-5 with a run in the eighth. Max Schoen led off the frame with a single to right field and hustled to second on a ground ball. Two batters later, Jonathan Banks came in as a pinch hitter and tallied a base knock, pushing Schoen across home plate.

Skylar Mercado led off the ninth with a single back up the middle. Brian Parreira was hit by a pitch with one down, putting runners on first and second. Mercado swiped third and hustled home on a fielder's choice, making it 8-6.

Luke Westerberg came on as a pinch runner for Moon. A walk to Max Schoen put two on with two out and the game-winning run to the plate, but USC Aiken was unable to knot the contest.

For the game, Mercado, Parreira and Price had two hits apiece. Goings led the way with a pair of RBI.  

The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for USC Aiken.

The Pacers return to action tomorrow in the middle game of the three-game series at 2 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.