AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Paine College baseball team lost a hard-fought 9-8 decision to Trinity Baptist Friday afternoon in the season-opening game before falling 8-0 in the nightcap.

The Lions totaled 10 hits in the contest, including two from Rayvion Alexander, Cristian Batista and Dominique Page.

Denny Daza led off the first with a single and moved to third on a base hit from Page. Daza raced home for a 1-0 lead on a wild pitch.

Tied at 1-1 in the second frame, Camillo Martinez raced home on a sacrifice fly by Daza. Martinez reached on a one-out single to center field.

Leading 2-1 in the third, Jeury Beato tripled and scored on a base knock by Page. Jhoel Melone doubled home Page for a 4-1 advantage. Moments later, J. Ramsey scored on a groundout.

After the teams traded runs in the fourth, TBC scored three runs in the fifth to pull within one at 6-5. Neither team scored in the sixth and the visitors plated four runs in the seventh for a 9-6 advantage. However, the Lions continued to battle back. Melone walked and moved to second on a base hit from Batista. After each stole a base, C. Delgado grounded out, but Melone crossed home plate. Batista scored on an infield hit by Alexander, but a groundout ended the game.

Christian Tibadijo worked 6.2 frames while Fabio Warff tossed the final third of an inning. Tibadijo had two strikeouts in the contest.

PC's M. Roundtree accounted for the team's lone hit in the nightcap.

The teams return to action tomorrow for a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.