GREENWOOD – Jordan Owens and Jeff May had three RBI apiece and AJ Nunziato homered, helping the Lander Bearcats complete a Peach Belt Conference three-game sweep over No. 17 USC Aiken with a 12-8 victory Sunday afternoon at Legion Field.
Lander, which swept the Pacers 4-1 and 9-1 on Saturday, stayed unbeaten in the PBC. The Bearcats are 14-9 overall, 5-0 in the Peach Belt.
Aiken, despite out-hitting Lander 16-13, fell to 13-9, 1-5.
Starting pitcher Brandon Farquhar (2-0) was the winner for Lander, allowing three runs on nine hits in six innings. He struck out seven and walked one. Michael White allowed two runs on four hits while striking out one and walking none in two innings of relief. Brantley Blalock allowed two runs in the ninth and Darrin Tew gave up one before recording the final out.
Starting pitcher Derek Beasley (2-3) took the loss for Aiken. He was the first of seven Pacers pitchers.
Leading the Bearcats were Owens, 2-for-4 with two doubles, three runs and three RBI; and May, 2-for-6 with two runs and three RBI.
Erik Lunde, who reached base 10 of his first 12 plate appearances in the series including his first three times Sunday, went 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs. Robert Skinner was 1-for-1 with three runs, and Alan Abreu went 2-for-4.
Leading Aiken were Kyle Rice, 2-for-3 with a homer, two runs and three RBI; Stephen Carmon went 3-for-5 with a triple and two runs, J.J. Loker was 3-for-5 with a run and RBI, and Teddy Leverett went 2-for-4 with one run scored.
USC Aiken took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Carmon tripled into the right-field corner and scored on Josh Miller's ground out to third.
Lander tied it with one swing of the bat when Nunziato launched his second homer of the season, a blast over the fence in left-center as the leadoff batter in the bottom of the first.
The Pacers took a 3-1 lead in the third when Leverett and Carmon reached on infield singles, Loker had an RBI ground out, and Rice added an RBI single.
The Bearcats answered again, this time with a four-run rally after the first two batters of the bottom of the third were retired. Lunde got things started with a line drive single up the middle that knocked the pitcher to the ground, Skinner walked, and Owens hit a run-scoring double.
May hit a two-run single to left, giving Lander a 4-3 lead. Pete Hernandez was hit by a pitch and Ryan McNulty became the sixth Bearcat in a row to reach base, looping an RBI double near the left field line that gave the Bearcats a 5-3 lead.
Lander increased its lead to 10-3 in the fourth, scoring five runs on only two hits, two walks, two errors and two hit batsmen. Owens was credited with one RBI in the inning, Hernandez had a run-scoring single, and Marshall Creed drew a bases-loaded walk.
The Bearcats added two more in the seventh with Skinner drawing a leadoff walk, Owens smacking an RBI double to deep center, and May adding an RBI single.
Aiken got on the board in the eighth when Loker hit a leadoff single and Rice followed with a two-run homer to left center.
Jowan Gray added an RBI double and Josh Attaway a two-run single in the ninth for the Pacers.
