Box Score AIKEN, S.C. –
Chandler Rogers tied the school record with five hits while
Mitch Spence was dominant as the University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team posted a 6-0 win over Young Harris Friday.
The Pacers are now 28-20 on the year, including a 17-11 ledger against PBC foes. The Mountain Lions drop to 31-17 overall, including 15-11 in league action.
Spence led the way on the mound. He worked seven frames and struck out 10 batters while exiting the game with a 6-0 advantage. Spence worked two batters into the eighth. For the game, he threw 115 pitches and 81 were strikes.
Daniel Wiggins came in to relieve Spence and quickly registered three outs in the eighth. Wiggins retired the side in the ninth to secure the win.
Head coach
Kenny Thomas' team took a 2-0 lead in the second frame.
Philip Watcher walked and hustled to second on a wild pitch. He promptly moved to third on a groundout.
Sean McQuillan launched a sacrifice fly to right field for a 1-0 lead. After
Jackson Hannon singled to third base, Rogers singled to right, pushing Hannon to third base.
Luke Leisenring's single to right field extended the margin to 2-0.
USC Aiken increased the lead in the fifth when
Conner Durden's RBI groundout plated Rogers for a three-run cushion. Two batters later,
Joey Smithers smacked a single to center field, plating Leisenring for a 4-0 score.
The Pacers pushed the score to 6-0 when Hannon's sacrifice fly scored McQuillan, who had reached on an infield single, swiped second and went to third on an error by the catcher. One pitch after McQuillan scored, Rogers lifted a round-tripper over the wall.
In the eighth, Rogers belted a single to straight-away center field, tying the school record with five hits. He accounted for four singles and a homer.
Durden and Leisenring had three hits apiece while Rogers scored a game-high two runs.
The teams return to action tomorrow for one game at 4 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
