GREENWOOD, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team split a pair of games at Lander Saturday, winning 7-2 before falling 5-4.
The Pacers end the season with a 20-17 record, including a 18-15 mark in league play. The Bearcats end their season with a 20-19 ledger, including a 16-16 mark in the PBC.
In game one, USC Aiken jumped out to a 7-0 lead after scoring a run in the second, two in the fifth, one in the sixth and three in the seventh before LU managed to scratch across two runs.
For the game,
Marcus Mastellone led the way with three hits while
Morgan Hyde,
David Jacobs and
Tyler Littlefield had two hits apiece. Jacobs drove in a game-high three runs while he and Mastellone each touched home plate twice.
In the second inning,
James Eckert singled home Mastellone for a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, Jacobs got ahold of a pitch and belted it to center field while driving in
Jackson Hannon for a 3-0 advantage.
Mastellone hustled home in the sixth on a passed ball for a 4-0 margin. Head coach
Kenny Thomas' team added three runs in the seventh behind solid hitting. Jacobs singled home
Nick Tripp to get things started. He came home on Littlefield's double to right. Littlefield scored on a miscue for the team's 7-0 lead.
For the game,
Daniel Wiggins got the start and worked six innings to pick up the win. Wiggins struck out six in his last career start.
Austin Sandifer struck out one over three innings of work.
In game two, Tripp doubled to lead off the second inning. After moving to third on a sacrifice hit from
Jeff Cyr, Littlefield's groundout plated Tripp for a 1-0 lead. USC Aiken pushed the score to 2-0 in the second.
Sean McQuillan singled to lead things off and went to third on a base knock from Eckert. Hyde laid down a sacrifice bunt, plating McQuillan.
Lander tied it in the bottom of the second inning, but the Pacers regained the margin in the sixth with a pair of runs.
Hyde led off the frame with a single and moved to second on Hannon's sacrifice. With one down, an error allowed Jacobs to reach first and Hyde to hustle to third. Cyr singled home Hyde and Littleifeld plated Jacobs with a base knock for a 4-2 lead.
The Bearcats tied it in the bottom of the seventh and won on a walk-off single in the ninth.
For the game, Hyde led the way with a pair of hits. Cyr, Eckert, Hannon, Littlefield and Tripp each had one hit. Hannon and Tripp each had doubles.
Lindsey Robinson Jr. worked six innings. He recorded six strikeouts in the game.
Henry Cartrett worked two innings, picking up two strikeouts in the loss.
It marked the last career game as a Pacer for head coach
Kenny Thomas and the seniors.
