Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Aiken, S.C.----The USC Aiken Pacers won a 10-inning marathon in game on Wednesday afternoon en route to a doubleheader sweep over the visiting Bulldogs of Wingate University in NCAA Division II softball action. The Pacers won game one 1-0, while prevailing 5-2 in the second game to improve to 12-4-1 overall. Wingate falls to 14-9-1 on the season.

Game One: USC Aiken 1, Wingate 0 (10 innings)

USC Aiken’s India Kornegay and Wingate freshman right-hander Stacey Houser (Mooresville, N.C.) were dominant throughout the first game. Kornegay piled up 17 strikeouts, allowing four hits while walking five. Houser surrendered seven hits, striking out five and walking two. Neither pitcher allowed an earned run.

Sarah Montei was two-for-four with an RBI to lead the USC Aiken attack. Shannon Traylor went one-for-three with a run scored, while Kaitlyn White was one-for-two and drew a pair of walks.

Senior first baseman Brittany Loudermilt (Stony Point, N.C.) went two-for-four to lead the Wingate attack. Senior outfielder Kasey Pendley (Marion, N.C.) was one-for-three, while freshman outfielder Shannen Adams (Ayden, N.C.) also had a hit for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs left a runner on base in each of the first three innings. Wingate’s best chance came in the sixth. Adams singled to start the inning, went to second on a sacrifice, then went to third on Loudermilt’s single. A walk would load the bases with one out. Kornegay got the second out via strikeout, while getting out of the jam with by inducing a popout.

The Bulldogs got two on with one out in the eighth via walk and hit batsman, but a strikeout and flyout ended the threat. Loudermilt reached on a one-out single in the 10th, but a pair of strikeouts ended the frame.

Houser set down eight straight Pacers from the third through sixth inning. She retired eight straight again from the sixth through the ninth inning.

Traylor reached via a one-out bunt single in the 10th, then went to second on a throwing error on the play. She scored on an RBI single from Montei to give the Pacers the victory.

Kornegay improved to 6-2 on the season by tossing the four-hit shutout in 10 innings of work. Houser fell to 9-4, allowing an unearned run on seven hits in 9 2/3 innings of work. Wingate left 11 on base, compared to USC Aiken’s six. Neither pitcher allowed an extra-base hit.

Game Two: USC Aiken 5, Wingate 2

Cortney Sadler was one-for-three with a triple and two RBI to lead the USC Aiken attack. Lindsey Jones was one-for-three with an RBI and a run scored, while Montei was one-for-two with a run scored.

Wingate got on the board in the top of the first. Adams drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a sacrifice, then scored on a USC Aiken error.

The Pacers answered with five runs in the bottom of the frame. An RBI single from Jones plated the first run, while the second run scored on a Wingate error. A two-run triple from Sadler made it 4-1, while an RBI groundout from Brandy Bossle gave the Pacers a four-run lead.

Whitley started the second with a double. She scored on Pendley’s RBI single to make it 5-2.

Taylor Morgan got the win, improving to 6-2. She allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings, striking out six. Sophomore right-hander Miranda Paul (Virginia Beach, Va.) took the loss, allowing one earned run on five hits in six innings, falling to 5-5.  

The Bulldogs are back in action Saturday, traveling to Lincoln Memorial to open up conference play at 1 p.m.