Pacers Come up Just Short, Drop Two to No. 22 Lenoir-Rhyne
AIKEN, S.C. – The USC
Aiken softball team dropped a pair of non-conference games to
region foe Lenoir-Rhyne Tuesday afternoon at J.H. Satcher Field.
Lenoir-Rhyne took the first game 4-1 in 10 innings before just
nipping the Pacers 3-2 in the second game.
The Bears improve to 26-4
on the 2010 season while the Pacers fall to one over .500 at 12-11
on the regular season.
Lauren Locklear
(Charleston, S.C./Wando) led USC Aiken at the plate for the day
with two home runs to keep both games close for the
Pacers.
Neither team was able to
pull ahead through most of the first game in what became a classic
pitchers’ duel and defensive struggle until Lenoir-Rhyne put
one run across in the top of the seventh inning.
With the game on the line,
the junior slugger Locklear stepped up to the plate and knocked a
ball off the top of the leftfield fence for a home run to even the
score at 1-1. The Pacers were unable to find the go-ahead run over
the next few batters sending the game into extra innings.
Both teams’ defenses
stepped up in the eighth inning and were able to hold the
others’ offenses to three-up-three-down to send the game into
the ninth frame.
The Bears looked to be in
position to break through in the top of the ninth inning with two
runners on, but the Pacer defense was able to shut them down and
get out of the inning. First baseman Blair Warren (Darlington,
S.C./Florence-Darlington Tech) secured the third out on a foul fly
out by Brandi Haithcock.
Freshman Lindsey Jones
(North Augusta, S.C./North Augusta) led off the bottom of the ninth
inning for the Pacers with a double to deep left field to put
herself in scoring position for Locklear. Locklear sent a shot to
the short stop who threw her out at first allowing Jones to advance
to third, but the Pacers could not capitalize on her position and
were forced to take the game into the tenth frame.
Lenoir-Rhyne’s
junior shortstop, Kat Rivers, was able to give the Bears the lead
and eventual win in the top of the tenth inning when she sent a
three-run home run over the left-center fence to put the Bears
ahead 4-1.
Dawon Millwood secured the
win for the Bears in 10 innings of work striking out eight batters.
She improves to 11-2 on the 2010 campaign.
Kathleen Nichols (Orange
City, Fla./Daytona Beach) took the loss inside the circle for the
Pacers striking out a career and season-high-tying five batters in
10 frames of work. She is now 0-4 on the season.
Lenoir-Rhyne’s
designated player Ashley Duckworth put the Bears up first in the
second game when she went yard with a two-run ball hit deep over
the left-center fence putting the Bears up 2-0.
USC Aiken’s
designated player Kelley King (Chesterfield, S.C./Chesterfield) led
off the bottom of the third frame by lacing a double to
right-center field and then moved over to third off a sacrifice
bunt by Jones. King stole home a few moments later when the catcher
over-threw the third baseman in a failed pickoff attempt to cut the
Pacers’ deficit to one.
Locklear tied things up
for the Pacers in the bottom of the sixth inning as she continued
her stout hitting performance with her second home run on the day,
fourth of the season, to tie things up at 2-2.
Brittany Cherry put the
Bears back on top for good in the top of the seventh inning with a
home run hit deep over the centerfield fence to put the score at
3-2.
Alex Smith earned the win
for Lenoir-Rhyne. She improves to 11-2 on the season.
Senior hurler Toni
Flessate (Goose Creek, S.C./Stratford) took the loss for USC Aiken
striking out four batters. She falls to 6-3 on the season.
The Pacers will now begin
a 10-game road trek beginning with a trip to Dahlonega, Ga. for a
conference double header against the Saints of No. 1 North Georgia
on Thursday, Mar. 18. The first pitch of the first game is
scheduled to leave the circle at 4 p.m. with the second game to
follow immediately after at around 6 p.m.
 |  |
