AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team lost a hard-fought game to Flagler by a 10-7 score Saturday.
The Pacers are now 26-20 on the season and 15-11 in league play. The Saints improve to 28-20 overall and 19-10 against conference foes.
Trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the second,
Philip Watcher drew a two-out walk. He quickly swiped second and scored when
Blake Jenkins reached on an error by the shortstop to make it 3-1.
Down 4-1 in the fifth, head coach
Kenny Thomas' team rattled off five runs to take a 6-4 lead.
Jackson Hannon led off the stanza with a base knock to right field.
Chandler Rogers singled to move him to second. The dyad each moved up a base before
Luke Leisenring earned a base on balls. All three base runners were able to take their time coming home when
Conner Durden launched an offering over the wall for a grand slam and a 5-4 advantage.
Trey Polewski singled and moved to second on a passed ball.
Joey Smithers walked and Watcher's base knock, combined with an error, allowed Polewski to touch home plate for a two-run margin.
Leading 6-5 in the sixth, Durden's single on a drawn-in infield pushed across a run for a 7-5 score. However, the Saints battled back to plate one in the seventh, three in the eighth and one in the ninth for a 10-7 lead.
USC Aiken threatened in the bottom of the ninth. Durden walked on four straight pitches. After a pitching change, Polewski ripped a base hit up the middle to put two on with nobody out. However, three straight outs ended the contest.
At the plate, Rogers tallied three hits, including a double. Durden posted two hits and had five RBI. Polewski and Watcher had two hits apiece. Hannon, Smithers and
Sean McQuillan each had a base hit in the game.
For the game,
Zach Rafuse worked six innings and struck out 10.
Austin Sandifer tossed a frame and registered a strikeout.
Daniel Wiggins struck out one batter in two innings of work.
The Pacers return to action tomorrow when they host the Saints at 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.