MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Senior left-hander Michael Heesch threw a complete game, and senior catcher Dylan Nasiatka went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs to lead the University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team to a 6-3 win in the opening game of a key Sun Conference series at St. Thomas on Friday. 

The Sand Sharks (23-9, 10-3 Sun Conference) took the lead on Nasiatka's RBI double in the third and added a run on Conald Mansfield's RBI single later in the inning. They scored three more in the sixth, the latter two on RBI singles by Erik Armstrong and Nasiatka, to give Heesch plenty of cushion.

Heesch retired 13 consecutive batters after he allowed a solo home run to Victor Madrazo with two outs in the first inning. Osvaldo Gonzalez broke the string with a leadoff single in the sixth, but Heesch stranded two runners in the inning and got an inning-ending double play in the seventh.

The Bobcats (24-6, 8-4) scored two unearned runs in the eighth, but Heesch was able to limit the damage and work around two singles in the ninth to preserve the win.

USCB pulled within one game of Embry-Riddle for first place in the conference standings.

The series concludes with a doubleheader scheduled for noon Saturday. Left-hander Adam Miller and right-hander Kyle McCullough are expected to start on the mound for USCB.