Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
HARDEEVILLE, S.C. – The University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team has adopted the mantra – complete with a Twitter hashtag – that it's tough to win in Hardeeville.
Well, for visiting teams, anyway.
The Sand Sharks ran their home winning streak to 13 games with wins of 6-3 and 7-1 on Saturday at Richard Gray Sports Complex, completing a three-game sweep of Southeastern in their first Sun Conference series of the season.
The Fire (8-9, 4-5 Sun Conference) entered the series in second place in the Sun Conference standings, but ace Justin Mauldin was hit hard in Friday's opener, and Southeastern couldn't generate enough offense Saturday.
The opener got off to an inauspicious start for USCB (14-2, 3-0 Sun Conference), as the Fire scored unearned runs in each of the first two innings against starter
Adam Miller. But Miller (3-1) settled in and retired eight straight, working five scoreless innings before turning it over to the bullpen in the eighth.
The Sand Sharks dug out of the hole with a run in the second and three in the third, and they broke it open on pinch hitter
Keifer Youmans' two-run single in the seventh.
Gabe Torres went 3-for-4 with an RBI double and two runs scored to lead USCB's offense in the first game.
The Sand Sharks didn't have to play from behind in the second game, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by
Erik Armstrong and a two-run single by
Brandon Collins. They added an RBI single from
David O'Neil in the second and scored two in the fourth on
Weldon Smith's RBI single and O'Neil's sacrifice bunt.
That was plenty of cushion for starter
Kyle McCullough and five relievers, who combined to hold the Fire to six hits. McCullough, making his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery, was limited to three scoreless innings, and
Miles Galvin (2-0) allowed one run over three innings for the win.
Ty Main went 3-for-4 for USCB in the nightcap, and O'Neil, Youmans and Smith had two hits apiece.
Armstrong had one hit in each game to extend his hitting streak to 18 games dating to last season.
The Sand Sharks will try to match the longest home winning streak in their history when they host Southern Wesleyan at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
