JACKSONVILLE, FL  – USC Aiken pounded out two doubles and a home run during a three-run seventh inning that propelled the Pacers past Francis Marion University 5-2, Friday afternoon (May 20) in an elimination game at the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional baseball tournament.

Francis Marion, seeded third in the regional and ranked eighth nationally, ends its season at 34-16-1, one victory shy of the school record for wins in a season.  Fourth-seeded and 16th-ranked USCA (40-18) advances to face the Kennesaw State University/University of North Florida loser at 7 p.m. Friday night.

FMU was held to five hits by USCA sophomore left-hander Peden Rucker (6-4) who needed only 97 pitches to eliminate the Patriots.  FMU sophomore lefty Lee Tabor (9-4), who had allowed only one earned run in his last 24 innings entering the tournament, was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs, all earned, on seven hits in 6.1 innings.

The Patriots jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the fourth frame.  Senior center fielder Quentin Davis drilled a one-out RBI-double to right field scoring Omar Quiles.  After a flyout, Davis advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a second wild pitch by Rucker.

USCA trimmed the margin in half when Ian Kowalchuk scored on an RBI ground out by Robert Davis in the fifth inning.  The Pacers got even at 2-2 in the sixth frame when Casey Derhak came home on a two-out wild pitch by Tabor.

The Pacers then took the lead with the three-run seventh inning.  With one out, Daniel Quartararo hit his ninth home run of the year, a solo shot over the left field fence.  Senior righty Mitch Norris then relieved Tabor and was greeted by a double to right by Davis.  One pitch later, first baseman Steven Kinney doubled in Davis with a shot down the right field line.  Following a groundout, Kinney scored on a two-out wild pitch by Norris.

Rucker retired the final 13 Patriot batters in order.

Francis Marion may have been rusty entering the tournament, having not played for 25 days since a season-ending doubleheader sweep of Claflin College on April 24.  The Patriots were making their third NCAA Tournament appearance in 13 seasons.

However, FMU head coach Art Inabinet stated, "We have no excuses. We weren't rusty; we got some scrimmages in."  The fifth-year head coach went on to say, "The better team won today. They beat us in every phase of the game. Aiken made some adjustments, give them credit."

"We were picked to finish ninth (in the Peach Belt Conference) this year, so just being here is a small miracle. I would have liked to make a better showing. The two teams that beat us deserve a lot of credit."

Tabor echoed Inabinet's comments, saying, "They were the better team today. Nobody expected us to be here (especially after) we lost our two (pitching) aces from last year. The heat was a factor, but that's no excuse."  On the decisive pitch to Quartararo in the seventh, the Manning native said, "It was a 2-2 fastball. It was supposed to be away, but tailed across the plate. He is a good hitter and he hit a good pitch."

Quartararo added, "The pitch was up and in, the same one he got me out on the at-bat before."

FMU's Davis was 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.  The Darlington native finishes his career with 221 hits, five shy of the Patriot all-time mark.

Zach Cooper (2-5), Davis (2-4), Derhak (2-4), and Kowalchuk (3-2) all collected two hits for USCA.

After the game, USCA head coach Kenny Thomas said, "Rucker pitched extremely well. I didn't know if we were going to be able to get to their guy, he was pitching well. Daniel's home run definitely ignited us. I thought both teams had great defense and pitching, which is what you expect in a situation like this."

"(Its a) great win for us after a tough loss last night. It was our second game in 14 hours, so it was tough both mentally and physically. Pedan got stronger as the game went on. He was throwing as well in the ninth as he was in the first. He had command of all his pitches, but we had the closer ready in the eighth in case he got into any trouble."

Rucker added "I was hitting all my spots and had a good defense behind me. We played as a team. After we tied the game, I had a lot of adrenaline going. I got more focused. I was hoping to finish the game since I haven't had one (complete game) all season."