AIKEN, S.C. – The No. 22 University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team cruised to an 18-1 victory over rival Augusta Saturday afternoon.
The Pacers are now 26-10 on the season, including an 11-6 record in league play.
Head coach
Kenny Thomas' team jumped on top in the bottom of the first and never looked back.
Jose Bonilla led off the frame with a single and
Mitchell Price brought him home two batters later with a two-run shot over the right field fence. After
Zach Moon was hit by a pitch, he moved to second on a walk to
Jonathan Banks.
Daulton Weeks drove him in with a first-pitch single to left field for the 3-0 lead.
USC Aiken pushed the margin to 4-0 in the second when Price lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring
David Lankster, who reached on a base hit to left field earlier in the stanza.
In the third, Lankster drew a four-pitch walk, pushing
Brian Parreira to second base. Bonilla's base knock brought home both runners for a 6-0 edge.
Price was hit by a pitch and trotted to second on Moon's walk. Banks' groundout pushed both runners up a base. Weeks singled the dyad home for an 8-0 advantage. After Parreira reached on a fielder's choice,
Skylar Mercado belted a two-run shot for a 10-0 lead.
In the fifth, Moon singled home
Luke Westerberg, who had singled earlier in the inning. With Price on third base, Banks delivered a sacrifice fly for the second run of the frame.
USC Aiken continued its offensive firepower in the sixth with four more runs. Price singled home Lankster and Bonilla for a 14-0 advantage. Moon doubled home Westerberg and Price to make it 16-0. In the seventh,
Alex Mills doubled and scored on Mercado's single.
Moon launched a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to push the margin to 18-1.
Preston Dawson's outstanding snag at first base ended the contest.
Connor Riley was stellar, tossing seven scoreless frames.
Hunter Hubbard came in and worked a strong eighth inning.
Connor Norton finished off the game with an outstanding effort in the ninth.
At the plate, Price delivered three hits and posted a game-high five RBI.
The Pacers return to action Sunday for the series finale at 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.