PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team lost a hard-fought 6-4 contest to No. 11 West Florida Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers are now 0-6 on the season while UWF improves to 5-1.

USC Aiken jumped on top with a run in the first frame. Josh Sharp walked on four pitches to start the game and hustled to second on a wild pitch. Three batters later, Justin Byrd rocketed an 0-2 offering to right center field for the one-run edge.

UWF managed to knot the score in the fourth but head coach Michael Holder's team regained the advantage in the fifth. Cade Bouknight reached on an error and moved to second on JB Bell's bunt single. Sharp followed it up with a bunt single on the ensuing pitch to load the bags. Cannon Frost's groundout allowed Bouknight to cross home for a 2-1 lead. Dalton Graves blasted a single to left, plating Bell and Sharp for a 4-1 advantage.  

Down 5-4 in the top of the seventh, Holder's team had a chance to tie or take the lead. With two away, Capers Molinaroli singled up the middle. A Kaden Usry double to right field pushed Molinaroli to third base. However, a foul ball ended the threat. 

Trailing 6-4 in the eighth, Bouknight singled to right field and moved to second on Sharp's base hit. However, back-to-back fly balls ended the threat. USC Aiken once again got on base in the ninth with an Usry base hit to center field, but the team was unable to plate any runs. 

For the game, Usry led the way with three hits. Bell, Byrd and Sharp all had two hits. Graves led the offense with two RBI while Sharp crossed home twice. 

The team tallied 12 hits – two of which were doubles. 

On the mound, Kevin Cox got the starting nod and worked three frames. Connor Sampers went two innings with a strikeout. Evan Condon took the loss while Derek Espinoza and Cole Evilsizor also saw time. Evilsizor registered a pair of strikeouts. 

The Pacers return to action Friday when they host American International at 4 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.