SALISBURY, N.C. – The University of South Carolina Aiken baseball team lost an 11-2 decision at No. 21 Catawba Wednesday evening.

The Pacers are now 9-26 on the season.

Head coach Michael Holder's team jumped on top of the Indians when Josh Sharp blasted a lead-off homer over the right field wall, marking his first four-bag hit of the season. Three batters later, Joseph Mozingo pushed the margin to 2-0 with a solo blast over the left center field fence. It marked Mozingo's team-leading fourth round-tripper of the year.

Catawba cut the deficit to one in the first and took the lead with a three-run second inning.

The Pacers had a runner in scoring position in the third when Sharp drew a one-out walk. He moved to second on a wild pitch, but back-to-back ended the threat.

Down 10-2 in the seventh, Dalton Graves was hit by a pitch. With two away, Jack Hobson reached on throwing error, allowing Graves to hustle to third, but USC Aiken was unable to take advantage of the runners on base.

Catawba managed to tack on a run in the eighth for the final score.  

For the game, Mozingo, Sharp and Usry all had hits. Mozingo and Sharp blasted solo home runs in the outing. Sharp also drew a walk in the contest.

On the mound, Connor Sampers got the start and tossed 1.1 innings. Jared Huse, Caden Purvis, Jaylen Merchant and Evan Condon all saw time on the mound. Condon, Merchant and Purvis all had strikeouts.

The Pacers return to action Friday when they play at Lander starting at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.