PEMBROKE – Visiting USC Aiken clubbed three home runs in the top of the first inning to grab all of the early momentum, but the UNC Pembroke softball team used a key four-run fifth inning to finish off a series sweep of the Pacers on Friday evening at LRA Field.

The victory helped the Braves (24-21, 8-16 PBC) secure their first winning regular season since 2010, while also putting the finishing touches on an 18-10 campaign at LRA Field – the most home wins for the club since the 2008 season. The setback marked the sixth loss in the last eight outings for USC Aiken (22-14, 11-11).

Both teams are still in the hunt for one of eight spots in next weekend's Peach Belt Conference Tournament.

Whitney Jackson homered and drove in a pair of runs on a 3-for-4 night for the Black & Gold, while Brea Hartley doubled in a run and scored once on a 2-for-3 showing. Megan Hillard provided a 2-for-4 hitting line for the hosts as well.

Sarah Montei, Samantha Chubb, Sydney Murphy and Makenzie Barbor all hit home runs for the Pacers. Murphy finished the night with a 2-for-3 plate performance.

Katie Saunders (15-13) overcame a shaky first inning to notch her 15th victory of the season after striking out six and scattering seven hits over her 22nd complete game outing of the season. Danielle Payne (13-6) yielded seven runs (five earned) on nine hits in 4-2/3 innings of work to take the loss for the visitors.

Montei and Chubb hit back-to-back one-out homers in the first, and Murphy added a two-run shot two batters later, to help USC Aiken secure a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Braves got a run back on Taylor Gerhart's RBI single in the bottom of the frame, and then climbed to within a lone score on Jackson's two-run bomb in the second.

Barbor's solo homer with two outs in the fourth padded USC Aiken's lead back out to a pair of runs, but the Braves used four hits and three costly errors in the fifth to plate four runs and take the lead for good.

The Black & Gold will snap the lid on the regular season portion of its 2015 schedule on Tuesday when it makes the short trip to Mount Olive (26-16) for a 2 p.m. twinbill at Nancy Chapman Cassell Field.