AIKEN, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team registered  5-3 win over North Georgia Friday evening in the first game of the three-game series.

The Pacers are now 19-22 on the season, including an 11-11 ledger in league play. The Nighthawks fall to 26-17 overall and 12-10 against PBC foes.

Head coach Michael Holder's team got on the board with three runs in the first frame. Sean McQuillan bunted for a single and swiftly stole second to get things going. After a walk to Jeff Cyr, Jackson Hannon drew a base on balls to load the bags. Nick Tripp's sacrifice fly plated McQuillan for a 1-0 edge.

Josh Sharp's base knock drove in Cyr before Carson Suess lifted a pitch into center field for a sacrifice fly, driving in Hannon for the 3-0 margin.

Leading 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, USC Aiken regained a three-run margin. Hannon drew a five-pitch walk and was able to take his time around the base paths when Tripp unleashed a two-run round-tripper over the left center field fence for a 5-2 score.

The visitors plated a run in the seventh, but the USC Aiken defense was up to the challenge the rest of the way.

For the game, Tripp led the way with a three-RBI performance while Hannon trotted across home twice. Cyr, Tai Gilbert, McQuillan and Sharp had two hits apiece in the win.

On the mound, Hunter Steger got the start and worked a scoreless first inning. He struck out a pair of batters.

AJ Deibel tossed the next 3.1 innings and had three strikeouts en route to earning the win. Austin Sandifer worked 1.2 frames and had a strikeout. Luke Parker completed the final three innings with six strikeouts to notch the save.

Deibel improved to 3-2 on the season while Parker garnered his second save of the year.  

The Pacers return to action tomorrow for the second game of the series starting at 3 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.