Miami Gardens, FL-This past weekend the USCB baseball team travelled to Florida Memorial University in a crucial three game series to determine their post-season fate.  The Sand Sharks needed to win all three games, and get some help in other contests, to earn a spot in the, six-team, Sun Conference baseball tournament. 

 

On Friday Dexter Price took the mound for USCB as the team won 6-2 in the first game of the series.  Price threw 7.1 solid innings with four strikeouts, three hits allowed, and giving up two earned runs.  Colton Rudd held the FMU team hitless in his 1.2 innings of work for the Sand Sharks.  At the plate Spencer Jackson went 3-for-5 on the day and scored a run, from his lead-off position in the USCB line-up.  Blake Cilwick also had a big day as his three RBI's and scored a run in a 2-for-5 effort at the plate.   With the win, and a Northwood University loss, the Sand Sharks moved up one spot, to seventh place, in the conference standings. 

 

USCB took the field on Saturday looking to build from the momentum gained in the big win Friday evening.  The Sand Sharks came out hot and Erik Armstrong continued his sizzling hitting for the week as he went 4-for-4 on the day with two RBI's and one run scored from his DH position.  Earlier in the week, verse Edward Waters, Armstrong had two homeruns and eight RBI's in the game.  The Sand Sharks also got clutch hitting from Gabe Torres with three hits, three runs scored and three RBI's in the game.  Adam Miller showed his 2010 form on the mound in throwing a complete game, eight innings, of shut-out baseball.  USCB was able to get 16 hits in the second game in their 11-0 route of FMU.  With the win the Sand Sharks moved into a tie for sixth place and needed to win the final game of the series to clinch a spot in the Sun Conference Tournament.

 

Michael Heesch got the start for the Sand Sharks on the mound, and just like Price and Miller, dominated the game.  He threw 7.0 innings, had eight strikeouts, six hits and gave up one run in the game.  Colton Rudd came in, once again, to close the game out and throw two more hitless and scoreless innings.  Offensively, the Sand Sharks mustered out 14 hits, from eight different batters, and scored eight runs in the victory.  Larry Perry went 2-for-4 on the day, scored a run, and had four RBI's on the day.  While Blake Cilwick had another three hit performance from the plate.  With the 8-1 victory the Sand Sharks clinched a four-way tie for fifth in the conference with Webber International, Warner, and Northwood Universities. 

 

Webber International ended up earning fifth place in conference because of their record against the other three teams tied in the conference.  The Sand Sharks earned the conference berth because they had won two games from both, Warner and Northwood, to clinch the final spot in the conference tournament.  On the weekend the Sand Sharks scored 25 runs and had 41 hits while only giving up three runs on the weekend. 

 

USCB will host Savannah State on Tuesday, April 26^th, at 4:00 pm at Richard Gray Stadium in Hardeeville, SC for their final regular-season contest.  The Sand Sharks will then travel to Fort Myers, FL to play in the Sun Conference Championships May 2-May 5, 2011.  USCB will face #1 seed, Embry-Riddle at 11:00 am on Tuesday, May 3^rd, in the double-elimination tournament being hosted by the City of Palms Park, the Spring Training home of the Boston Red Sox.