AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken softball team split a doubleheader with Catawba Saturday afternoon.
The Pacers are now 4-6 on the year while the Indians are 8-4.
USC Aiken won the opener 4-3 in nine innings before falling 13-6 in nine frames in the nightcap.
In game one, head coach
Jerry Snyder's team took a 1-0 advantage in the second frame. With runners on first and third, a wild pitch to
Deja Robinson allowed
Katie Painter to race home for the 1-0 edge.
The Indians tied it in the top of the third, but USC Aiken regained the margin in the bottom half of the stanza.
Leah Boghosian singled and moved to second on a throwing error by the pitcher. Moments later,
Hannah Price ripped a single to center field for the 2-1 lead.
Tied at 2-2 in the ninth inning, Catawba pushed across the run partly due to the international tiebreaker rule, which placed a runner at second base.
Katelyn Powell was placed on second base to start the bottom of the ninth and it didn't take long for Snyder's team to end the game. Price rocketed the first pitch she saw over the left center field wall for the 4-3 win.
For the game,
Caroline Cockrell worked all nine innings for the win. She struck out 10 batters and gave up just three hits. At the plate, Price accounted for two hits and three RBI. Boghosian had two hits while Cockrell and Painter each had one.
In the nightcap, USC Aiken jumped on top with a four-run first inning.
Courtney Strauss registered a hit on the first pitch she saw.
Katelyn Powell tallied a base knock. With one down,
Sydney Burk singled to first base, loading the bags. Two batters later, Painter belted a pitch that soared over left center field for her first career round-tripper and a 4-0 lead.
Catawba put two runs on the board in the second and two more in the fourth, knotting it at 4-4.
In the bottom of the sixth, Painter crushed a two-run homer, giving the Pacers a 6-4 advantage. The Indians tied it in the top of the seventh with a two-run shot.
USC Aiken had the bases loaded with two outs in the eighth, but the squad was unable to bring in the game-winning run.
Catawba broke it open with a seven-run ninth inning.
For the game, Painter went two-for-two with six RBI, two walks and two runs scored. Burk also had a pair of hits and scored twice. Powell and Strauss each had one hit and scored once.
The Pacers return to action Monday when they travel to Claflin for a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.
