NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team lost a 5-1 contest to Augusta in a neutral-site, non-conference game Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 20-11 on the season.

Neither team could muster a hit until Nick Tripp beat out a slow roller to second base in the second stanza. However, he was erased trying to steal for the final out of the inning.

Derek Espinoza continued his strong start and managed to get out of a jam in the fifth inning, helping the designated visitors leave two stranded. USC Aiken tried to get things going in the bottom of the frame. Luke Parker drew a lead-off walk and moved to second on a balk. Joseph Mozingo's base hit  pushed Parker to third while Mozingo took second on the throw. Kaden Blankenship walked to load the bags but back-to-back outs ended the threat.

Augusta plated five runs in the sixth inning for a 5-0 lead. However, Holder's team cut into the deficit in the bottom of the stanza. James Eckert led off the inning with a double down the left field line and moved to third on Jackson Hannon's fly ball. Justin Byrd's sacrifice fly allowed Eckert to cross home, making it 5-1.

For the game, Derek Espinoza got the start and worked five innings. He had eight strikeouts while giving up a pair of runs. Austin Sandifer had one strikeout while AJ Deibel worked 1.2 innings with one strikeout. Byrd tossed the final two innings and had three strikeouts.

For the game, Eckert and Kaden Usry each had a double while Mozingo, Tripp and Usry each tallied singles. Byrd drove in one while Eckert crossed home. Blankenship accounted for a pair of walks in the contest.

The Pacers return to action Saturday when they return to PBC action at Claflin for a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.