HARDEEVILLE, S.C. — A rough start doomed the University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team Wednesday, as the Sand Sharks were unable to dig out of an early hole and lost to No. 18 Tennessee Wesleyan for the second day in a row, falling 11-7 at Richard Gray Sports Complex.

The Bulldogs (17-5) hit a pair of home runs in the first inning — a leadoff blast by Travis Burnside and a two-run shot by Stephen Branca. 

The Sand Sharks (17-6) erased their initial 4-0 deficit with four runs in the bottom of the first, but the Bulldogs scored four more in the top of the second to chase starter Stephen Richards (0-1) and take the lead for good.

USCB's bullpen had a solid day, as Junior Delatorre threw two hitless innings, Miles Galvin worked a scoreless eighth and Matt Barger pitched perfect ninth.

Senior first baseman Brandon Collins went 4-for-5 with an RBI and scored three runs to lead USCB's offense. Conald Mansfield added three hits, and Blake Cilwick had a two-run single for the Sand Sharks.

Branca went 3-for-5 with four RBIs to lead Tennessee Wesleyan, which has won 12 straight and 15 of 16.

The Sand Sharks remain at home this weekend for a three-game Sun Conference series with Florida Memorial. The opener is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday, and the series concludes with a doubleheader starting at noon Saturday.