The beginning
The Pacers began their season going 8-1, winning their first 3 series played. The school had never been off to such a good start in the history of its program. They had many transfers come in, and many new guys stepping up into roles they had never had to do before. Things were looking amazing for the Pacers, until the coronavirus tragically struck the nation and cut all NCAA sporting events short.
Series 1
The first series of the year was against Brevard College. There is an entire article about the series here at Capital Sports. Here is the link: https://wordpress.com/block-editor/page/capitalsports2020.game.blog/55
The Pacers had many accomplishments that weekend, as it was also the first time the Pacers had opened up a season with a sweep.
Series 2
The second series of the year included a nailbiter against Hampden Sydney. A 17 inning win in Virginia really sparked the Pacers, as it was one of the wildest endings anybody had seen on the diamond. This was also the longest played game in school history, a 5 hour game which ended with Logan Barbour getting the win pitching, as well as the game winning hit.
Barbour would end up tearing it up for the rest of the weekend, as the Pacers ended up going 2-1 against the Tigers. This legendary performance by the newcomer Barbour would not go unnoticed though, as Barbour would win USA South Conference player of the week! He is the first player in program history to win the honors.
Series 3
Series 3 took place against a school up North that goes by the name of Mary Washington. The Pacers would sweep the series in a dominant fashion, only 1 of the 3 games even being close. There were 2 players that shined very bright during this series. It was Sam Peddycord and Philip Berger.
Sam Peddycord took the mound for game 1 and he stayed on the mound for the whole game. He threw his first career complete game, not even giving up a run and only 4 hits over the course of 9 innings. Peddycord struck out 3 and claims that it is the greatest game he has ever pitched.
Philip Berger took the mound in game 2 and did the exact same thing Peddycord did, through 7 innings. The freshman Berger really made the most of his first career college start, pushing the Pacers to victory on Saturday afternoon. He would also last the entire game, giving up no runs on just 5 hits, having 5 strikeouts.
Peddycord would earn USA South pitcher of the week, while Berger would earn USA South freshman pitcher of the week. This is the first of such honors for either players, as they both just “had it” that weekend. It was a huge morale boost for the entire team, as they moved into 8-1 on the year after completing the sweep.
Series 4
Series 4 did not exactly go the way the Pacers wanted it to go, as they lost the series 2-1 against Greensboro College. Some players like Logan Barbour, Tyshawn Barrett, and Hunter Ward still had good weekends at the plate. Brendan Shea was able to pick up the lone win on the weekend for the Pacers, bringing them to 9-3.
Series 5
Excluding Midweek games, this was the last week of the season before it being cut short. The Pacers would lose this series as well, going 1-2. However, this would not come without some heroics from freshman Jackson May. May would draw a walk-off walk against Piedmont College of Georgia and the Pacers would steal a game from the Lions.
This is the video of the walkoff, as it is probably one of the greatest moments in school history. Capping off an amazing game and certainly a moment May will never forget, and the whole team will probably not forget as well
The End
The Pacers would go 2-0 against Dean College during the middle of the week preparing to face Pfeiffer that weekend. The Pacers were now on a roll coming off of 4 straight good games, looking to sweep the Falcons. This is when the tragic news struck about the fate of the Pacers year.
On a Thursday afternoon, the news was delivered from Coach Chris Duty that the Pacers season will be terminated. This was heartbreaking for the Pacers players and coaches as everything they had worked so hard for all year was ripped away from them.
Ending on a positive note
For the last week of the season, Hunter Ward was able to win USA South Freshman of the week. He was very hot at the plate all week long, as was a huge contributor to the Pacers having a successful week. Ward was the starting shortstop all year for the Pacers, hitting over .300 for the year.
The Pacers were off the greatest start in school history. They seem to be having a lot of help coming back next year. Hopefully it will be a successful and prosperous year for the Pacers, and they will be able to finish what they started in 2020. #rollcers
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