COLUMBUS, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken softball team lost a hard-fought 6-4 contest at Columbus State Sunday afternoon in the series finale.

The Pacers are now 14-21 on the season, including 6-9 in PBC play.

In the back-and-forth affair, head coach Jaclin Poole's team jumped on top of the Cougars when Mallory Shaver blasted her 12^th career round-tripper to straight-away center field in the second inning for a 1-0 lead.

CSU took a 3-1 lead with a three-run third inning but USC Aiken knotted the score just two frames later.

In the top of the fifth, Shaver led off the inning by drawing a walk. With one down, Kadence Adams stepped into the box as a pinch hitter and earned a one-out walk. Tara McGee's groundout allowed Jakayla McKelvey (pinch runner for Shaver) and Daum (re-entered the game for Adams) to both be in scoring position.

Cameron Greene made the most of her pinch hit opportunity, smacking a single to center field, which allowed McKelvey and Daum to score.

With two outs in the top of the sixth, the Pacers regained the advantage when Shi Cain unleashed a powerful shot over the left field wall for a solo home run and a 4-3 edge.

The Cougars had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the inning but Lakyn Phillips struck out a batter and forced a ground ball out for the final two outs with a runner on third base. CSU managed to knot the score with one down in the bottom of the seventh before ending the game on a two-run home run.

For the game, Cain and Shaver each had solo home runs while Greene drove in two runs on her pinch hit. Cain, Daum, McKelvey and Shaver all crossed home in the loss.

Phillips took the loss. She went the distance and had three strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work.

The Pacers return to action Tuesday when they play a doubleheader at Limestone starting at 1 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.