CARY, N.C. - A late surge in the non-conference portion of the schedule had the Pacers primed and ready to continue their momentum into conference play. The Pacers hosted their first USA South conference series of the year, welcoming Methodist University as the foe.
The visiting Monarchs started off hot against senior right hander, Jack McIntosh. 2 of the first 5 Monarch hitters hit home runs to left field, giving Methodist the early 3-0 lead.
The cushion looked to be good enough for breakout freshman hurler Ian Swanson, who took the bump for the Monarchs. Swanson worked a quick bottom of the first, retiring 3 in a row after a leadoff single.
However, the Pacers would get to the youngster, putting up 2 runs in the bottom of the second after a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly from Adam Joseph.
That 3-2 score would hold until the 5th, as both McIntosh and Swanson tossed up multiple zeros. A leadoff walk to Jacob Herzberg and a single from Gavin Turner had the Pacers in business in the bottom of the 5th.
Coach Long would get creative to tie the game up, running a safety squeeze with power hitting first baseman, Ian Turner. The play would unfortunately end up costing the Pacers, as Turner came up limping after trying to beat the throw to first and had to leave the game.
Alex Levesque would give the Pacers the lead one batter later with a double, scoring Gavin Turner. Peace added another run to make it 5-3 in the bottom of the 6th on a throwing error.
Jack McIntosh would pitch into the 6th, getting taken out after surrendering a baserunner and eclipsing 80 pitches thrown on the day. It would be up to the Pacer bullpen to hold the lead.
Unfortunately for Pacers fans, the Monarch flood gates opened after McIntosh exited. Methodist would go on to score 8 runs in the bottom of the 7th, on a blend of walks, hit batters, and timely base hits.
All of the wind in the Pacer sails was taken out by the ginormous Monarch 7th. Peace would go quietly in the final three frames of the contest, and the Monarchs would add one more in the 9th. The Pacers look to bounce back and can still win the series tomorrow, March 15hth, as the Monarchs are back in town for a double header.
