MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team completed a three-game sweep at No. 6/15 Georgia College Saturday afternoon.
USC Aiken won by scores of 7-3 and 11-1.
The Pacers are now 13-4 on the season and 5-1 in league play. The Bobcats fall to 9-7 overall and 4-3 in the PBC.
In the opener, USC Aiken trailed 1-0 after the first inning but plated five runs over the next two stanzas to take control of the game.
With two outs in the second,
Trey Polewski singled and moved to second on a walk to
Philip Watcher. A wild pitch and a walk to
Scott Huntley loaded the bags.
Jackson Hannon ripped a single through the right side, scoring two.
Sean McQuillan singled home Huntley for a 3-1 edge.
Alex Mills blasted an offering over the left field wall to lead off the third inning.
Blake Jenkins was hit by a pitch and hustled to third on a single from Polewski. Watcher knocked in Jenkins for a 5-1 advantage.
Georgia College made it a 5-2 game in the fourth. Neither team could get another run across the plate until the ninth stanza. With one down,
Luke Leisenring drew a walk and managed to trot home when Durden belted a pitch over the right center field wall for a 7-2 lead. The Bobcats scored once in the bottom of the ninth for the final tally.
For the game, Hannon, Mills and Polewski all had two hits. Durden and Hannon each drove in two.
Zach Rafuse was outstanding, striking out seven batters without walking anyone through seven frames.
Daniel Wiggins worked the final two innings while striking out three for the save.
In game two, Huntley reached on an error to start the third. A walk to Hannon pushed him to second before McQuillan's bunt loaded the bases. Polewski got USC Aiken on the board with a sacrifice fly. Back-to-back walks made it 2-0.
Chandler Rogers singled up the middle to bring two home for a 4-0 lead.
USC Aiken plated five runs in the fourth. With the bases loaded, Durden was hit by a pitch, driving in Hannon. Mills singled in McQuillan and Jenkins followed him up with a base hit that scored Polewski.
Blake Bottomley's two-out single to right center pushed the score to 9-0 in favor of the Pacers.
The Pacers tacked on two runs in the eighth inning. Polewski singled and later scored on a wild pitch. With two down, Jenkins roped a single to center field, plating Durden for the 11-0 lead.
For the game, Bottomley, Jenkins, Mills and Rogers had two RBI apiece. Durden led the way with three runs scored while McQuillan and Polewski each scored twice.
Garvin Alston Jr., worked six frames en route to earning the victory.
Austin Sandifer,
Hunter Shuff and
Jon Yarbrough all threw an inning apiece.
The Pacers return to action Tuesday when they travel to Catawba for a 4 p.m., start. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.