AMERICUS, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team scored seven runs in the third inning and registered an 8-2 victory at Georgia Southwestern Sunday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 8-9 on the season, including 2-1 in league play.

Interim head coach Michael Holder's team was led by Marcus Mastellone and Nick Tripp as each posted three hits and drove in two. Josh Sharp tallied two RBI as well while Jackson Hannon trotted across home plate twice.

Jacob Rye tossed 6.1 innings and had seven strikeouts to pick up the victory. He gave up two runs on four hits and walked two. Louie Smith struck out two and did not allow a hit in 1.2 frames. Grant Stanford threw a scoreless ninth to close out the afternoon.

Scott Huntley led off the third and reached on an error. He moved to third on a single by Mastellone. With one away, Huntley scored on a bunt from Jackson Hannon. Jeff Cyr singled to load the bags. Tripp plated a run with a base hit to left field. Sharp followed him up by reaching on a fielder's choice that saw Hannon and Cyr score.

With the bases loaded, Joseph Mozingo reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Tripp to score. Two batters later, Mastellone singled in Sharp and Mozingo to make it 7-0.

In the fourth, Hannon led off with a base hit to left field. Cyr's single pushed Hanon to third. Tripp's base knock allowed Hannon to cross home plate for an 8-0 advantage.

The Hurricanes plated two runs in the seventh, but could get no closer as USC Aiken controlled the game. Holder's team did not allow a base runner over the final two frames.

The Pacers return to action Tuesday when they play at No. 15 Lenoir-Rhyne at 4 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.