NEWBERRY, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken softball team lost a pair of hard-fought games at Newberry by scores of 4-3 and 5-3.
The Pacers are now 3-5 on the year while the Wolves stand at 10-2.
Trailing 1-0 in the opening game, head coach
Jerry Snyder's team knotted the contest at 1-1 in the fifth stanza.
With one down,
Holly Daum singled through the right side of the infield. She promptly stole second with two away before advancing to third on a throwing error on the catcher. Daum scored on an error by the center fielder.
The Wolves regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning on an unearned run for the 2-1 score.
The Pacers tied the score in the top of the seventh.
Katie Painter smashed a double to right center field and scampered to third on a groundout by Briana Dow. Daum plated Painter with a base knock up the middle.
Caroline Cockrell retired the home squad, sending the game into extra frames.
USC Aiken took a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning. With the international tiebreaker rule,
Katelyn Powell was placed on second base to start the stanza.
Hannah Price was hit by a pitch and both moved up 60 feet on a sacrifice bunt from
Sarah Sams.
Sydney Burk roped a line drive to right field, scoring Powell.
After Cockrell shut down the Wolves in the eighth, Newberry managed to score the game-winning run in the ninth.
For the game, Daum led the way with three hits. Painter, Powell, Sams and
Courtney Strauss all had a hit apiece. Cockrell went 8.2 frames and struck out five while giving up one earned run on five hits.
In game two, Price gave the Pacers an early 1-0 lead when she blasted a round-tripper high over the left field fence in the first inning.
The Wolves plated a run in the bottom of the first and another in the third for a 2-1 edge, but head coach
Jerry Snyder's team quickly evened the contest in the fourth.
Sams singled to shortstop and quickly stole second base. Burk ripped a double to the gap in left center, allowing Sams to score to make it 2-2.
USC Aiken took the 3-2 lead in the sixth. Price smacked a double to left field.
Leah Boghosian came in as a pinch runner and promptly raced home on a base hit from Burk.
Newberry tied it in the bottom of the sixth and managed to win with a two-run homer in the seventh.
For the game, Burk and Price had two hits apiece. Burk drove in a pair of runs.
The Pacers return to action on Thursday, Feb. 21, when they host Erskine for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
