AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken softball team split a doubleheader with Young Harris, winning the last game 1-0 in nine innings.
The Pacers are now 10-26 on the season and 2-6 in league play.
Head coach
Jerry Snyder's team trailed the first game 15-0 in the fifth, but the team never gave up. In the bottom of the stanza,
Deja Robinson singled and was followed up with a
Brielle Jungblut base knock to left center field.
Jessica Stanley bunted to load the bases.
Hannah Price lifted the first pitch she saw to center field, scoring Robinson with the sacrifice fly.
Chandler Terrapin hit a deep ball to left center field, loading the bases once again.
Courtney Strauss reached on a fielder's choice. An error by the third baseman on an errant throw to home allowed two runs to score, making it 15-3. Katleyn Powell lofted a pitch to center field as Terrapin scored from third for the final run of the game.
In the opener, Terrapin led the team with a pair of base hits.
In the nightcap,
Hannah Price was outstanding in the circle. She held the visitors to a mere four hits through the first six frames.
USC Aiken had a superb chance to take the lead in the third stanza. With one down,
Lyndie Dorgan ripped an offering to left field for a single.
Leah Boghosian walked, putting two runners on. However, back-to-back outs ended the threat.
The Mountain Lions tried to take the lead in the fifth, but a strong defensive play by Strauss nixed the opportunity. With two down and a runner on second, a base hit was sent to right field. Strauss played it off of one hop and rocketed the ball to
Kristan Lowery, who promptly tagged the runner out.
In the sixth,
Jessica Stanley was awarded first base with one down after being hit by a pitch. Strauss faked the bunt and later in the at bat, hit a bounding ball to the shortstop for a single. Price went to the opposite field for a base knock, loading the bags. However, back-to-back outs ended the frame still scoreless.
After Price shut down the visitors in the top of the seventh, Powell registered a single to second base and hustled to second on a sacrifice bunt from Lowery. Dorgan belted a pitch, but YHC managed to snag it for the second out. A pop-up sent the game into extra innings.
In the bottom of the ninth, Lowery blooped a pitch to right center field, which was just out of the second baseman's reach. Dorgan took an 0-1 pitch to the wall in right center field, pushing Lowery to third. An errant throw on the relay allowed Lowery to slide home safely for the win.
For the game, Price had three hits while Dorgan accounted for two. Price tossed a complete game, giving up just six hits in the shutout. She struck out six batters in the win.
The Pacers return to action Thursday when they travel to North Greenville for a doubleheader slated to start at 2 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
