FLORENCE, S.C.— A bad hop on a potential inning-ending ground ball opened the flood gates for a seven-run inning as 11th-ranked USC Aiken defeated 24th-ranked Francis Marion University 8-1 and the Pacers would go on to sweep the Sunday afternoon (March 18) Peach Belt Conference doubleheader with an 11-3 win in game two.
USCA (21-6, 11-1 PBC) sweeps the three-game series. Francis Marion (19-11, 7-8) will play host to Claflin University, Tuesday at 3 p.m.
With USCA leading 1-0 in the top of the seventh inning, and runners on first and third with two outs, Pacer right fielder Darryl Pui hit a ground ball to FMU shortstop Greg Phelps. As Phelps readied himself to field the ball and flip to second base for the inning-ending force out, the ball took a bad hop and glanced up off Phelps’ right shoulder for an infield single allowing one run to score. Three hits, two walks, and a hit batter later, USCA led 8-0.
USCA sophomore right-hander Beau Hill (5-0) tossed a four-hitter and struck out 10 batters. Shortstop Marc Joehnk went 3-for-5 with two runs batted in, while Pui, Ken Raborn, and Matt Spivey all had two hits. Chad Jacobsen and Chris Sheehan each drove in two runs in the first contest for the Pacers.
Junior righty Cole McKellar (3-2) took the hard-luck loss for Francis Marion. Until the fateful seventh, he had limited USCA to one run on five hits. Pinch hitter Ryan Hewitt accounted for FMU’s lone run with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.
In game two, the Pacers took advantage of two FMU errors to score seven unearned runs in the top of the first inning. Sheehan then hammered a long two-run homer onto the FMU Softball Field in deep right in the second inning to stake the Pacers to a 9-0 advantage.
Senior southpaw Jon Paul (5-2) pitched a complete game, allowing only seven hits and fanning six Patriots. Pui and Jacobsen both had two hits in the second contest, with Pui, Sheehan, and Spivey driving in two runs apiece.
FMU lefty Michael Williams (5-1) suffered his first loss of 2007. Patriot leadoff man Derek Kennamer collected three hits, to finish the week 13-for-25, while junior right fielder Justin Greene was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
