AIKEN, S.C. – Two home runs and a four-run sixth inning were too much for the University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team to recover from in a 10-2 loss to Young Harris Friday evening at Roberto Hernandez Stadium.
The Pacers are now 19-9 on the season and 11-2 in the PBC.
The Mountain Lions opened the game with a blast over the right field fence on the very first pitch giving the visitors the 1-0 advantage.
Head Coach
Michael Holder's team was able to knot the score 1-1 in the home half of the inning. With two outs,
Jackson Hannon singled to right field and then advanced to second on a single by
Luke Parker.
Joseph Mozingo singled to left and quickly moved to second on the throw, pushing Parker to third and scoring Hannon. The inning ended with a strikeout.
In the top of the second, Young Harris again homered, this time with a runner on base, increasing their lead to 3-1.
The Pacers drew within one in the fifth inning that started with a single to right by
Marcus Mastellone. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored when
Justin Byrd singled to center. With the tying run on base a fly out ended the inning.
The Mountain Lions added four runs in the sixth, two more in the eighth and one in the ninth that the Pacers couldn't counter.
Holder's team faced a tough Nate Lamb from the Mountain Lions. Their hurler pitched six innings and struck out 13 while only walking one.
For the game, Parker went two-for-four while Byrd, Hannon, Mozingo, Mastellone and
Nick Tripp each had one hit. Hannon and Mastellone accounted for the runs. Byrd and Mozingo each knocked in a run.
On the mound,
Joel Haney got the start and worked 5.2 innings giving up five runs on six hits with six strikeouts against one walk.
Derek Espinoza pitched a third of an inning in relief giving up two runs on one hit while striking out one.
Cole Evilsizor hurled 1.2 inning giving up two runs on two hits and striking out three.
Jacob Bodkin gave up a run and a hit in two-thirds and
Adam Krissinger gave up a hit in two-thirds of work with a strikeout.
The Pacers return to action tomorrow for game two of the three-game series against Young Harris. The first pitch is at 3 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com