Pacers Earn Fourth Straight Series Victory with Twinbill Sweep over Bearcats
AIKEN, S.C. – The 16th-ranked USC Aiken baseball team earned their fourth straight series victory by sweeping their home conference doubleheader with instate rival Lander Saturday evening. The Pacers won the first game, 12-8, before securing a 3-2 victory in the nightcap.
The Bearcats move to 13-7 overall and fall to 0-5 in their Peach Belt Conference schedule, while the Pacers improve to 15-7 overall and 7-1 in conference play.
The 16th-ranked Pacers took complete control early in first game utilizing the long ball on multiple occasions before the Bearcats were able to claw their way back into contention before USC Aiken took the game 12-8.
Left fielder Jowan Gray (Aiken, S.C./South Aiken) and senior first baseman Travis Howard (Bonneau, S.C./USC Salkehatchie) led USC Aiken at the plate going 3-for-5 with one home run each. Gray also had three runs and three RBIs to lead the team while Howard chipped in two runs and two RBIs of his own.
Stephen Carmon (Camden, S.C./Camden) started things off for the Pacers by lacing the first pitch of the game over the right field wall for a home run.
Gray led off the bottom of the second inning by sending a ball off the right side foul pole for a home run of his own.
The bottom of the third inning saw Carmon spur the big scoring surge for the Pacers with a stand up triple to deep right-center field. Bill Rice (Sewell, N.J./Cloucester County) then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Carmon and put USC Aiken up at 3-0.
Nick Aranas (Lexington, S.C./Lexington) laced a home run of his own off Lander’s Darrin Tew over the right center field fence to score Howard.
Gray followed up his earlier home run by hitting a hopper over the third baseman’s head to score Gary Asbill (Batesburg, S.C./Batesburg-Leesville) and Noah Wethington (Rock Island, Ill./Blackhawk) for two of his three RBIs. He then advanced to third and into scoring position due to an error by the left fielder.
After a ball popped off his hand during a sacrifice bunt attempt, Carmon was able to lay down a chip hit that was mishandled by the first baseman to get on base and score Gray putting the Pacer lead at 8-0.
Lander’s Bud Lanier kept Steven Owens from getting the no hitter in the top of the fourth with a chip shot to the second base area, but the Bearcats were unable to capitalize.
The bottom of fifth inning saw more of the same from the Pacers when Will Fulmer (North Augusta, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) came into the lineup for due to an injury and immediately made an impact with a double to deep left center to score Gray once more.
Rice then sent a sacrifice fly a few moments later to right field to score Fulmer.
With USC Aiken up 10-0 and David Vitko (Columbiana, Ohio/Youngstown State) on base, the senior slugger Howard stepped to the plate big by ripping a ball well over the right field fence to put the Pacers up 12-0.
Lander’s shortstop Alan Abreu opened the floodgates for the Bearcats when he scored on a wild pitch in the top of the sixth inning to bring the score to 12-1.
The Bearcats were able to claw their way back to within four in the bottom of the eighth inning. With the bases loaded, Jordan Owens began the scoring drive for Lander by ripping a ball down the left field foul line to score Abreu, Robert Skinner, and Bud Lanier to put the score at 12-4.
The Bearcats would score four runners in the inning to pull within four of the Pacers but USC Aiken would never relinquish the lead in the closing moments.
Darrin Tew suffered the loss on the mound for Lander in the first game striking out just two batters and giving up seven earned runs off 13 hits. He falls to 3-3 for the season.
Senior right-handed hurler Steve Owens improves to 5-1 on the 2010 campaign after giving up just one run, two walks and fanning 13 batters in seven innings of work. His 13 strike outs is three shy of the school record of 16 set by Bryan Ward in 1993 against Augusta State and then again by Pete Pignatiello in 2006 against Anderson.
USC Aiken was able to hold on to a narrow victory in the second game, besting Lander 3-2 in a tight game to the end.
Two Pacers led USC Aiken at the plate going 1-for-2. Aranas continued his hitting prowess and junior catcher Kyle Rice (Augusta, Ga./Goose Creek) contributed to the win both at the plate as well as from behind it.
Lander was able to score first in the second game when Abreu crossed the dish off a double by Lanier, but the Pacers would not let that lead stand for long.
In the bottom of the first, with the bases loaded, designated hitter JJ Loker (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) was walked with the bases loaded to move Vitko across the dish to even the score at 1-1.
Bill Rice came back in the bottom of the third inning to lead off with a homerun jacked well over the right field fence to give USC Aiken the lead at 2-1.
Abreu crossed the plate again for the Bearcats, this time off a single to left field by Skinner to even the score once more at 2-2.
The Pacers attempted to steal the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning when Josh Miller (Chapin, S.C./Chapin) pinch hit for Loker with Howard and Aranas in scoring position at third and second respectively. Miller attempted to send a light blip to the third baseman to score Howard, but he did not bite and threw Howard out at home.
Lander tried their hand at taking the lead in the top of the eighth inning loading the bases before Devin Ridlehoover grounded out to Vitko to end the Bearcats half of the inning with three Bearcats left stranded on base.
Asbill came in to lead off the bottom of the eighth inning to pinch hit for Kyle Rice and sent a hard hit ball to left field to get on base. Wethington then laid down a very well placed sacrifice bunt to move Asbill into scoring position on second base.
Vitko reached base a few pitches later by being walked before he and Asbill advanced to third and second on a wild pitch by Lander’s Drew Elliott.
The very next pitch, Elliott sent the ball past his catcher to allow the speedy Asbill to make it home safe to put the Pacers up 3-2.
Chad Benefield (Dallas, Ga./Southern Union) came in during the ninth inning to close out the game for the Pacers and earn his second save on the 2010 season.
The left-handed Elliott suffered the loss for Lander. He falls to 0-1 on the season.
Senior left-handed hurler Thomas McLeod (Chapin, S.C./Chapin) earned the win for the Pacers in eight innings of work striking out four batters. He improves to 3-1 on the 2010 campaign.
The Pacers will close out their home conference series with the Bearcats tomorrow, Sunday, Mar. 14 with a 1 p.m. tilt within the friendly confines of Roberto Hernandez Stadium. Fans are reminded to set their clocks forward an hour so they do not miss the first few innings of action at the ‘Bert.
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