BLUFFTON, SC-The Sand Sharks baseball team spotted Northwood two runs in the third innings then came back playing “long ball” and went on to defeat Northwood 6-3 in the first game of a three game set at the Richard Gray Baseball Complex in Hardeeville on Friday afternoon. The win keeps USCB in second place behind Embry Riddle in the Sun Conference with a 15-6 record and gives the Sand Sharks an over-all record of 33-10.
 
Sand Shark starter Adam Miller battled through six innings scattering ten hits, but only giving up the two runs in the third to get his ninth victory of the season. Kyle McCullough and Andres Castro finished up for USCB with Castro working out of a bases loaded jam in the ninth to secure the Sand Shark win.
 
Northwood's hurler, Rick Teasley pitched two hit baseball through the first four innings before Larry Perry's lead -off home run in the fifth frame to left center field cut the visitors lead in half. Later in the same inning, consecutive doubles by RJ Neal and Blake Sanders tied the score at 2-2. 

David O'Neil was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth and came around to score on Perry's rbi double giving USCB a 3-2 lead.
 
Neal led off the next frame with his second double of the contest and scored on a Clay Bonds single. Northwood got out of the same seventh inning with a triple play. After scoring the one Neal run, the Sand Sharks loaded the bases with nobody out. O'Neil bounced to the third baseman Rafael Ortega who threw home for the first out. The catcher, Aiden Wassenar, threw back to third for the force out. Ortega ran the Sand Shark runner Spencer Jackson back to first base and tagged him out as O'Neil was already occupying the bag.
 
But the Sand Sharks did pick up two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Brandon Collins singled and DeShontay Berry walked. With two outs, Neal lifted a fly ball to centerfield that was dropped by Northwood's Robbie Jones allowing the final two USCB runs to score. 

The two teams will be back in doubleheader action at noon on Saturday at home. Prior to the games, there will be Senior Day festivities that will honor twelve seniors graduating this year in all USCB sports.