AIKEN, S.C. – The Lander baseball team could not salvage a win in its series finale against USC Aiken as the Bearcats fell to the Pacers, 9-5, on Sunday afternoon. 

Lander (14-31, 7-20 PBC) will need two wins next weekend in its final home series of the season against North Georgia to earn a spot in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. USC Aiken (29-16, 20-7 PBC) is currently second in the conference standings. 

The Pacers took a 4-0 lead in the opening two innings, but the Bearcats answered as Bo Richey came around to score on a Mike Fitschen single. Fitschen scored three battters later on a Nathan Schreckengost sacrifice fly to cut the USCA lead in half. 

Lander pulled to within a run in the fifth inning on Carson Jones' 12th home run of the season and tied the game in the sixth on an RBI single from Colton Yeager that plated Brice Kirven. However, the Pacers scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to go ahead 9-4. 

Jones drove in his second run of the day in the ninth inning with an RBI single that scored Fitschen.

Daniel Wiggins (5-1) earned the win, allowing one run on one hit with two walks and a strikeout in 1.0 inning of relief. Chris Sheehan (3-6) suffered the loss for the Bearcats, allowing seven runs on 10 hits with one walk and five strikeouts in 5.1 innings. 

The Bearcats travel to Lenoir-Rhyne on Tuesday night for their final non-conference test of the season.