AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team knocked off league-leading Flagler Friday evening by a 6-3 score in the series opener.
The Pacers are now 26-19 on the season, including a 15-10 ledger in league play. The Saints fall to 27-20 overall, including 18-10 against league foes.
Trailing 2-0 in the second inning,
Conner Durden continued his hot hitting, blasting a solo dinger over the right field wall.
USC Aiken made it a 3-2 contest when
Jackson Hannon crushed an offering to right center field for a triple that scored
Blake Jenkins in the bottom of the third. Jenkins led off the stanza by ripping a double down the left field line.
Head coach
Kenny Thomas' team took a 4-3 lead on a
Chandler Rogers double in the fifth. With one away, Jenkins registered a single and moved to second on a base knock from
Sean McQuillan. On a grounder to second by
Jackson Hannon, McQuillan hustled and slid into second just before the ball arrived, deeming him safe.
Rogers launched a pitch high and deep to left field. The ball hit the top of the wall, scoring Jenkins and McQuillan for the lead.
Luke Leisenring rocketed an offering to right center field for a triple that plated Rogers for a 5-3 advantage. After a walk to Durden, a wild pitch allowed USC Aiken to take a 6-3 lead.
It was more than enough for a dominant pitching performance by USC Aiken. For the game,
Mitch Spence worked eight innings. He tossed 126 pitches en route to earning the victory. He struck out eight.
Henry Cartrett came in to work the ninth and to pick up the save. He struck out three of the four batters he faced.
At the plate, Jenkins and Rogers had two hits apiece. Rogers drove in two while Jenkins crossed home twice in the win. Durden had a homer while Hannon and Leisenring each notched triples. Jenkins and Rogers had a double apiece.
The Pacers return to action tomorrow when they host the Saints at 4 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
