COLUMBUS, Ga. – The No. 1 University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team lost a hard fought 10-9 contest at Columbus State Sunday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 19-7 overall and 6-3 in league play.

Head coach Kenny Thomas' team jumped out to a 5-0 lead through the first 2.5 frames. Jose Bonilla opened the game with a single and moved to second when Jonathan Banks earned a walk. Mitchell Price's sacrifice bunt pushed both runners up 90 feet. Zach Moon singled home Bonilla for a 1-0 edge.

Two batters later, Nile Goings singled in Banks and Daulton Weeks followed him up with a base knock to score Moon.

USC Aiken scored two in the third inning, with the first coming via a sacrifice fly from Weeks, scoring Moon. Joey Smithers singled home Conner Durden for the 5-0 edge.

Leading 5-2 in the fourth, Bonilla singled and scored when Price roped a double to left field. Thomas' squad pushed the margin to five at 7-2 when Weeks doubled in Goings in the fifth inning.

The home team rattled off seven consecutive runs, taking a 9-7 lead heading to the eighth. The Pacers, however, would continue to battle.

With two down, Banks singled and managed to trot home when Price blasted a two-run shot high over the left field fence, knotting the contest at 9-9.

CSU scored a run in the bottom of the eighth but USC Aiken managed to get a runner on second base with two outs. However, the Cougars managed to get the final out.

For the game, Bonilla and Goings had three hits apiece. Price and Weeks drove in three runs apiece – and both garnered two hits. Banks, Bonilla and Moon all crossed home plate twice each.

The Pacers return to action Wednesday when they play at North Greenville. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. Live stats will be available at PacerSports.com.