USCA bats hot again as Pacers thrash Senators

USC Aiken first baseman Ty Barkell, is greeted at home plate by Kevin Gifford after hitting a solo home run during a 22-4 win over Davis & Elkins. Staff photo by Noah Feit.

One. Five. Three. Four. Four.

These aren’t the winning lottery numbers, and it isn’t a cadence used by Eli Manning in the Super Bowl. It’s the line score posted by the USC Aiken baseball team while scoring 17 runs through the first five innings of Friday’s 22-4 win over Davis & Elkins.

The Pacers (4-0) were dominant, winning the opening game of the Carolina Outdoors Classic at Roberto Hernandez Stadium. They’ll return to the diamond at 1 p.m. today against Carson-Newman, before playing the final game of the three-day event against North Georgia at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

“Every day is a new day,” said USCA head coach Kenny Thomas, who will give the ball to Wyatt Brown today. “Tomorrow is another day, but today was really good.”

If anything, Thomas was understated in describing how well his Pacers played against the Senators. USCA was relentless at the plate, recording 25 base hits and drawing 13 walks.

By the end of the fourth inning, every Pacer in the starting lineup recorded at least one base hit and had either scored one run or knocked one home. By the end of the fifth inning, seven of the nine starters achieved both. For the game, 18 players had a plate appearance, and 15 of them reached base.

“Usually when you get 25 hits and 13 walks, you win,” Thomas said. “We’ve swung the bat extremely well, and that’s what happened today. We had 18 guys who got an at-bat; that’s kind of amazing.”

The main reason the Pacers didn’t score in the sixth inning is because Thomas pinch-hit for all of his starters. It didn’t take the reserves long to get into the groove, scoring five runs in the final two innings at-bat for USCA.

The four runs the Pacers posted in the seventh inning were courtesy of JJ Loker’s pinch-hit grand slam. They batted around in that frame, the fourth time in eight innings that they accomplished that feat.

“Top to bottom, the offense is balanced,” Thomas said of his Pacers, who tallied a double-digit run total for the third time in four games this season. “We’re balanced, that’s what we’re looking for.”

Loker showed how deep USCA’s lineup can be. He came off the bench, going 2-for-2 with five RBIs. His big blast made him easy to single out, but he was just one of nine Pacers to have a multi-hit day.

Davis & Elkins (0-1) likely isn’t one of the toughest teams USCA will face this season, but Thomas’ players must be credited for taking care of business. The players in the starting lineup had good at-bats and worked themselves into good hitter’s counts, while the reserves made the most of the opportunity to play.

Just going down the lineup, the numbers speak for themselves. Branden Millhouse (2-for-5, two runs, one RBI), Stephen Carmon (2-for-3, two walks, three runs, two RBIs), Josh Miller (2-for-3, a walk, three runs, three RBIs), Bill Gerstenslager (1-for-1, a school-record four walks, one run), Nick Aranas (3-for-4, a walk, four RBIs), Tyler Bourdo (1-for-4, a walk, one run, one RBI), Ty Barkell (2-for-5 – including a home run and double – two runs, one RBI), Kevin Gifford (3-for-4, three runs, one RBI) and Stephen Bellantoni (2-for-4, two runs, two RBIs) all did major damage. One or two of these performances would normally be key to a win; combined, they led to the one-sided victory.

The Pacers pounced all over the five Senators who pitched, including starter Zach McElroy (0-1) who gave up nine runs – eight of them earned – in 2 1/3 innings. When they weren’t rounding the bases, they backed up their own pitching staff, which delivered a very solid performance. Southpaw Derek Beasley got his second win in as many starts.

Although he wasn’t lights out, he didn’t need to be with so much run support. The long waits between innings could’ve thrown him off rhythm, but he still lasted five innings. Beasley allowed three runs, only one earned, on five hits and a walk while recording three strikeouts.

He was followed by Taylor Peed, who was very impressive. The right-handed sophomore had four strikeouts as he twirled two scoreless innings of relief without surrendering a hit or walk.

“Beasley threw well, and I was real pleased with Peed,” Thomas said of the pitchers who were followed for an inning each by Danny Wissmann (no runs no hits) and Trey Preston (one run, one hit, three walks). “Overall, we pitched well.”

The story of the game was USCA’s batters. They were patient, powerful and versatile.

“We want speed, we want power,” Thomas said. “We want a little of everything.”

DE    100 200 001 – 4 5 3

USCA    153 440 41x – 22 25 2

WP: Derek Beasley (2-0)

LP: Zach McElroy (0-1)