ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team lost a hard fought 3-0 game at Flagler in the series opener Friday evening.

The Pacers are now 7-17 on the season, including 3-4 in league play.

Head coach Michael Holder's team tried to break the scoreless contest in the fifth inning. Dalton Graves walked but was erased moments later. With two down, Kaden Usry ripped a single to left center field, but Cade Bouknight flied out down the right field line to end the inning.

With two down in the sixth, Brock Myers drew a five-pitch walk. Luke Parker blasted a shot to left center field. On the play, Myers raced around third but was thrown out at home, ending the threat.

USC Aiken nearly got on the board in the seventh frame. With one away, Graves walked. Joseph Mozingo roped a single through the left side, putting two Pacers on base. After a walk to Usry, Holder's squad had the final two outs on the base paths.

Holder's squad once again had runners on base in the eighth inning, but back-to-back line drive outs completed the frame.

Flagler broke through with three runs in the eighth but USC Aiken continued to battle. In the ninth, Capers Molinaroli led off the stanza with a base knock to right field. With two down, Usry took the first pitch he saw up the middle, putting runners on first and second base. A wild pitch allowed both student-athletes to move up 90 feet but a fielder's choice ended the contest.

For the game, Usry had two of the team's five hits. Parker registered a double while Molinaroli and Mozingo each had base knocks. Graves had a pair of walks in the game.

On the mound, Jacob Fletcher worked 7.1 innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits. Fletcher tallied seven strikeouts and walked two. Matt Garcia and Cole Evilsizor each recorded an out in the game.

The Pacers return to action tomorrow for the second game of the series starting at 2 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.