DAHLONEGA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team posted a 6-5 win at North Georgia Friday evening in the PBC opener.

The Pacers are now 6-2 on the year while the Nighthawks fall to 4-3.

Head coach Michael Holder's team got on the board in the second inning. Luke Parker reached on an error and moved to second. A groundout pushed him to third. Jose Hernandez got on base and swiped second. Kaden Blankenship singled home Parker. Two batters later, Josh Sharp singled home Hernandez for a 2-0 edge.

Down 3-2 in the third, Justin Byrd singled and stole second base. After he hustled to third on a groundout, Parker ripped a single through the right side, knotting the score at 3-3.

With one out in the fourth, James Eckert belted a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly from Sharp. Eckert singled home Marcus Mastellone in the fifth. Mastellone had reached on a base hit to right field.

UNG tied the contest at 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Holder's squad regained the advantage in the eighth. Hernandez singled and stole second. With two down, Sharp ripped a pitch up the middle, plating Hernandez for the 6-5 margin, which turned out to be the game-winning run.

AJ Deibel came in to relieve Joel Haney and picked up the victory. Deibel worked 4.2 innings. He gave up two runs on five hits and had four strikeouts. Dylan Wilhelm worked the final two-thirds of an inning for the save. Haney got the start and worked 3.2 innings. He gave up three hits and had a strikeout.

At the plate, Eckert led the team with three hits. He had a triple and one RBI. Sharp posted two hits and drove in three runs. Hernandez crossed home twice.

The Pacers return to action tomorrow when they square off against the Nighthawks at 2 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.