Pacers Record-Breaking Season Comes to an End at NCAA Regionals

HICKORY, N.C. - After a four hour rain delay, the USC Aiken softball team had its historic season come to an end as the Pacers fell 8-0 in five innings to Georgia College & State in its second game of the NCAA Regional Tournament on Saturday evening.

The first Pacer squad to participate in the NCAA Division II Tournament, USC Aiken ends the 2009 campaign with a 34-16 record. The mark garners the 2009 Pacers the best winning percentage (.680) in program history. USC Aiken's 34 victories tie them for second in program history for the most wins in a season.

The 2009 Pacers also tie the school record for the fewest runs allowed (139), tying the 2006 team for the fewest runs given up as a team in a single season in school history. In the field this season, the Pacers had a .961 fielding percentage, second only to the 2000 team that concluded the year with a .962 mark.

Georgia College advances to the semifinals of the Regional Tournament, facing the No. 3 seed and host Lenoir-Rhyne next. The winner of the matchup will go head-to-head with No. 7 Carson-Newman on Sunday for the regional championship.

The Bobcats scored in every other inning, making the Pacers commit four errors along the way.

GCSU started the game by scoring three runs in the first inning. The first two batters reached base by USCA fielding errors before Sherquita Bostick got on base by a fielder's choice for the first out. Tonya Medders then hit a three-run shot over the left centerfield fence for three RBIs.

With a runner on second and two outs, the Bobcats' Chelsea Wilson singled to left field to plate the runner before moving up a bag on a throwing error by the Pacers. Kayla Smith then singled to score Wilson and advanced to second on the throw home. GCSU would then put runners on the corners, but the Pacers' junior pitcher Toni Flessate would get herself out of the jam with just the two runs allowed.

The Bobcats had runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning as Smith came to the plate. She would hit GCSU's second three-run home run of the game to put the Bobcats up for good at 8-0.

The Pacers had runners on second base in three different innings, but each time they were unable to score.

Sophomore Jennifer Day recorded the Pacers lone hit in the game as she went 1-for-2.

The Bobcats Smith and Wilson both had two hits as Smith also recorded four RBIs in the game.

GCSU's Mandy Chandler went the distance in the circle, recording her 27th win of the season. She gave up just the one hit, while also walking one and striking out four.

Flessate suffered her eighth loss of the season by pitching 4.1 innings, which was her shortest outing of the season. She gave up all eight runs (four earned) on six hits. Flessate walked two in the contest.