MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The Georgia College & State University Baseball team (18-29, 15-10 PBC) lost to USC Aiken (28-16, 19-6 PBC) 8-2 Friday night at John Kurtz Field.

The ballgame was a close one early, as the team's aces went head-to-head on a Friday night. Bobcat lefty Luc Scudellari (Roswell) went seven innings with three earned runs on seven hits, fanning five in the loss (6-3). USCA's Jacob Fletcher (7-2) had the upper hand, working 7 1/3 innings with a single run on seven hits and six strikeouts.

GCSU got the first run of the game in the first, as centerfielder Evan Cowan (Richmond Hill) led off with a single, eventually scoring on an RBI base hit from Rightfielder Brandon Bellflower (Milledgeville). The Pacers answered with single runs in the second, third and fifth, then opened things up with multi-run innings for the eighth and ninth.

GCSU managed eight hits, with shortstop Dominic Arienzo (Madison) as the only multi-hit performer, pulling a pair of singles through the left side.

The Bobcats and Pacers square off again tomorrow, April 22 at 2 p.m.

Owning the top Academic Success Rate among public schools in Division II, the Georgia College Department of Athletics sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. GCSU Athletics has won three-straight Presidents' Awards for Academic Excellence, and are two-time winners of both the PBC Commissioner's Cup and the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' continued appearances in post-season competition as well as high-level academic success and community-service involvement. Bobcat Athletics embodies the mantra of "Graduating Champions for Life." Sign up at @GCSUBobcats on all social media outlets for up-to-the-minute reports.