AIKEN - The Lander softball team earned its first Peach Belt Conference sweep of the season Wednesday after two fourth-inning runs in the first game held for a 2-1 win against USC Aiken and Dariean Ward's RBI single scored Casey Wooten to lead the Bearcats to a 7-6 victory in eight innings in the nightcap at JH Satcher Field.

The Bearcats improve to 17-11 overall and 3-3 in the PBC, while the Pacers fall to 18-8, 4-2.

In the first game, the Bearcats Lexi Griffin (5-4) earned the win with three strikeouts, four walks and one earned run on five hits in 6.1 innings. McKenzi Ferguson was credited with her fourth save of the season in two-thirds of an inning.

USCA's Taylor Morgan (10-5) took the loss with nine strikeouts, two walks and two earned runs on six hits in the complete seven innings.

Lander took a 2-0 lead when Reychel Webster smacked a solo home run, her second of the season, in the fourth inning, and Chandler Carey's sacrifice fly plated Byranna Vasquez in the sixth.

The Pacers cut the gap to 2-1 in the seventh on Samantha Chu's sacrifice fly that plated Sarah Montei.

For Lander, Ward picked up her PBC-leading 14th double of the year.

In the second game, Ferguson (11-6) was awarded the win after striking out five, walking one and allowing five earned run on 10 hits in the complete eight innings.

The Pacers' Morgan suffered her second loss of the day, striking out two and allowing three earned runs on eight hits in four innings of relief.

USC Aiken went up 3-0 in the first on Chu's RBI double, followed by Hannah Price two-run double.

The Bearcats trimmed the lead to 3-2 in the second when Kacey Rogers' double scored Kelli McCormack, and Casey Kent singled in Rogers.

The Pacers came right back with a run in the bottom of the inning after Price drove in Leah Boghosi to go up 4-2, then added another run in the third on Julianne Leduc's RBI bunt single.

Lander answered with two runs in the fourth to cut the margin to 5-4 on Wooten's RBI single that scored Destiny Clyde and Webster's sacrifice fly that sent Wooten home.

After the Pacers added another run in the fourth on Magan Thrower's RBI single, Lander forced the game into extra innings on Kent's two-RBI single that put McCormack and Vasquez across the plate to knot the game at 6-all.

For Lander, Ward went 4-for-5 and McCormack 3-for-5, while Wooten, Kent and MaKenzie Smith had two hits each.

USCA's Price batted 3-for-4 and Thrower added two hits