Softball | February 21, 2023
Each week, USC Aiken will produce notes. This week, the Pacers open PBC play by hosting Young Harris in a three-game series starting Saturday with a doubleheader.
Recapping Last Week
In a busy week, USC Aiken went 3-5. The Pacers split games against Erskine, Clarion and Anderson before being swept at Wingate.
In eight games,
Shi Cain blasted four round-trippers on the week. USC Aiken accounted for 14 runs in the split against Erskine. The non-region contests against Clarion saw the Pacers fall in the opener before jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the nightcap before prevailing 4-2.
USC Aiken registered a 4-0 shutout of No. 12 Anderson, marking the first shutout of the season, before dropping the nightcap. The Pacers made the three-hour trek to Wingate and lost both games of a hard-fought doubleheader against the SAC school.
Tying The School Record
Head coach
Jaclin Poole's team tied the school record for home runs in a game in the hard-fought 8-7 loss to Erskine. Trailing 3-0 in the third,
Shi Cain blasted a three-run round-tripper that scored
Jena Dewalt and
Emily Ayers. Cain hit her second long shot of the day in the fifth, pulling the home team within three at 7-4. Down 8-4 in the sixth,
Kadence Adams came in and launched her first career round-tripper to make it 8-5. Dewalt's two-run home run that plated
Lauren Wexler pulled the squad within one in the bottom of the seventh.
Cain Can Crush It - Update
Shi Cain can do some damage to the softball. Heading into last weekend, Cain had five hits on the season and four had gone for extra bases. She led USC Aiken with four extra-base hits, including a team-high three round-trippers.
No Problem For Jena
Jena Dewalt had a huge day against Erskine. She went three-for-four in the first game and three-for-three in the second game. Dewalt had five RBI and scored four times. Additionally, she had a pair of bunt singles that traveled a total of less than 10 feet while also crushing a pair of round-trippers that measured over 210 feet each.
Movin' On Up
Against Erskine,
Emily Ayers and
Lakyn Phillips each moved into the school-record book for career categories. Ayers moved into eighth place for career home runs while Phillips entered the ledger and is now in ninth place for career strikeouts.
Knocking Off Anderson
With sophomore
Lakyn Phillips pitching an absolute gem, USC Aiken notched a 4-0 win over No. 12 Anderson Saturday afternoon. Phillips struck out 13 batters and gave up just five hits in the shutout victory.
Jena Dewalt had a multi-hit game while four Pacers knocked in a run apiece.
Inside The Numbers
This week, USC Aiken hosts Young Harris in a three-game series with a doubleheader coming on Saturday, Feb. 25 and a single game on Sunday, Feb. 26. Since moving to Division II, the Pacers are 224-190 (54.1 percent) in Saturday games and 119-142 (45.6 percent) in Sunday games. During the same time, the program is 14-9 on Feb. 25 and 11-7 on Feb. 26.
Against The Opponent
This week, USC Aiken hosts Young Harris in a three-game series with a doubleheader coming on Saturday, Feb. 25 and a single game on Sunday, Feb. 26. The Pacers trail the all-time series 11-9 to the Mountain Lions.
