AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken softball team split a pair of games against Francis Marion, winning 9-3 before falling 10-6.
The Pacers are now 12-32 on the season, including 4-12 in league play.
Head coach
Jerry Snyder's team jumped in front in the opener with two runs in the second inning. Facing an 0-1 count,
Sydney Kate Murphy launched a shot to straight-away center field that landed 230 feet from home plate for a 1-0 edge.
Courtney Strauss struck out swinging, but reached first on a passed ball.
Jessica Stanley was hit by a pitch and each student-athlete moved up 60 feet on a well-placed sacrifice bunt from
Sarah Sams. A single by
Brielle Jungblut loaded the bags.
Leah Boghosian grounded out, but it allowed Strauss to cross home plate for the 2-0 lead.
Leading 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Sams led off the stanza with a single. Jungblut drew a walk. With two down,
Hannah Price got a piece of an off-speed offering, hitting it toward second base. The ball took a big hop and bounced back toward first as the second baseman overran the ball on the bounce. The strange play allowed Sams to motor home from second base. On the very next pitch,
Chandler Terrapin blasted a three-run shot over the left center field wall for a 6-1 advantage.
The Patriots made it 6-3 in the fifth, but USC Aiken got a run back.
Maci Hutto doubled to center field and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Jungblut's infield single plated Hutto for the four-run margin.
Murphy put the game away in the sixth when she rocketed a two-out offering over the left center field fence for the 9-3 score.
For the game, Murphy led the way with three hits and three RBI. She accounted for two homers while Terrapin had one round-tripper and three RBI. Jungblut and Price had two hits apiece. Murphy and Price each crossed home plate twice.
In the circle, Price went the distance. She struck out one and gave up three runs on four hits.
USC Aiken trailed the nightcap 4-0 in the bottom of the first, but the squad tied it up. Boghosian led off the stanza with a single to left center field and moved to second on
Katelyn Powell's base knock. Price singled to load the bases. Boghosian scored on a wild pitch, making it 4-1.
Terrapin doubled home Powell before Murphy lifted a deep sacrifice fly that plated Price.
Caroline Cockrell singled home Terrapin, knotting the game at 4-4.
Trailing 6-4 in the fifth, Powell singled and hustled to second on a line drive single from Price. Terrapin's base knock up the middle scored Powell. Stanley poked a 3-2 pitch through the left side, tying the game at 6-6.
The Patriots managed to score three runs in the sixth and one in the seventh for the 10-6 final.
For the game, Price led the way with three hits. Boghosian, Powell and Terrapin had two hits apiece. Terrapin drove in a pair of runs while Powell and Price each scored twice.
In the field, Sams had five assists and three putouts while
Lyndie Dorgan was also great in the field, tallying three assists and a pair of putouts.
The Pacers return to action Saturday when they host North Georgia at 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
