GREENWOOD, S.C. – The No. 7 USCA baseball team lost a hard fought 5-4 contest at No. 2 Lander Friday in the first game of the PBC Tournament.
The Pacers are now 22-28 on the season.
Head coach
Michael Holder's team jumped on the board with a pair of runs in the first frame.
Josh Sharp was hit by a pitch and swiped second. After a walk to
Capers Molinaroli,
Hunter Thompson ripped a single through the left side of the defense, allowing Sharp to race home.
Jack Hobson followed it up with a double down the left field line, plating Molinaroli for a two-run advantage.
Leading 2-1 in the second,
Kaden Usry started the inning with a double down the left field line. After a walk to
Tyler Casciato,
Cannon Jones recorded a bunt single to load the bags. Two batters later, Molinaroli reached on a fielder's choice as Usry scored to make it a two-run game.
Holding a 3-2 edge, the game was postponed due to a weather delay that lasted until 7:30 p.m.
USCA added to the advantage in the fifth. Sharp led off the stanza with his NCAA-leading 12
th triple of the season, which ended up in right center field. He crossed home plate on a grounder by Molinaroli for a 4-2 edge.
The Bearcats responded with three runs in the eighth. With two down in the ninth, Thompson drew a walk and
Cannon Frost entered as a pinch runner. He went to third on a pair of wild pitches, but USCA was unable to push across the tying run.
For the game, Hobson had a pair of doubles and one RBI while Usry had two hits, including a double, and scored a run. Sharp tripled and scored twice. Thompson singled and drove in a run while Molinaroli notched a pair of RBI while crossing home once.
On the mound,
Blayne Newman got the start and went 2.2 innings before a weather delay.
Cade Bouknight tossed 4.1 innings and had six strikeouts.
Charles Herring, Jr., worked one-third of an inning before
Cole Evilsizor recorded two-thirds of an inning.
The Pacers return to action tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., in the double elimination tournament against either No. 3 Georgia College or No. 6 Flagler.