AIKEN, S.C. – The USCA baseball team dropped a hard-fought 11-8 contest to No. 8 Lenoir-Rhyne Wednesday evening.
The Pacers are now 11-4 on the season.
Head coach
Keith Gorman's team trailed 4-0 in the bottom of the third.
Evan Harding led off the frame with a double down the left field line. He raced around to score when
Chancellor Jennings reached on an error, making it 4-1.
The Bears pushed across three runs in the fifth stanza, but USCA got on the board in the bottom of the inning. With one down,
Blake Martin belted a solo shot over the right field fence, pulling the team within five, 7-2.
The Pacers erupted for five runs in the sixth stanza, knotting the score at 7-7.
Maverick Grigsby drew a walk and took second on a wild pitch.
Johann Rodriguez doubled, putting two on. After a walk to
Osmin Melendez, Harding and Jennings each walked, bringing the score to 7-4. After another pitching change,
Yariel Diaz lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, knocking in Melendez.
Donovan Glisson reached on a fielder's choice, pushing across Harding and Jennings, who scored as a result of an error that allowed Glisson to move to second.
L-R scored a pair of runs in the seventh for a 9-7 lead. USCA scored a run in the bottom of the eighth as Martin scored on a wild pitch. Martin had doubled and moved to third on a fly ball earlier in the inning.
The Bears posted a two-run home run in the ninth for a three-run cushion.
For the game, Harding and Martin had two hits apiece. Both had doubles. Martin crushed a home run. Harding and Martin each scored twice.
On the mound,
Nick Napolitano threw four innings and had two strikeouts.
Dante Onorato pitched an out.
Kyle Stock threw 1.2 innings and had two strikeouts.
Ron Robinson tossed two-thirds of an inning.
Luke Norman worked two frames and had four strikeouts.
Will Eichler recorded an out.
The Pacers return to action Friday when they travel to Flagler for a three-game series. First pitch on Friday is slated for 5 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.
