Georgia Gwinnett (8-3) at No. 21 USCB (6-9)
The University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team continues its long homestand this weekend, hosting Georgia Gwinnett for a three-game non-conference series. The Sand Sharks and Grizzlies will play a single game at 2 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader beginning at noon Saturday. Georgia Gwinnett is playing its second consecutive opponent that reached last year's Avista-NAIA World Series; the Grizzlies lost 2-1 to defending national champion Tennessee Wesleyan on Thursday. The Sand Sharks are looking to bounce back after dropping two of three to visiting Fisher College last weekend.
LEADING OFF
Date: Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2
Time: 2 p.m. Friday, Noon Saturday (DH)
Location: Richard Gray Sports Complex, Hardeeville
Series: First meeting
LIVE COVERAGE
TV: Friday — The County Channel (Hargray 9/113, Comcast 2, Time Warner 63); Saturday — None
Streaming video: Friday — The County Channel; Saturday — Stretch Internet
Live stats: Stretch Internet
ABOUT GEORGIA GWINNETT
A first-year athletics program located in Lawrenceville, Ga., Georgia Gwinnett competes in the NAIA and the Association of Independent Institutions. The Grizzlies are off to a strong start in their inaugural campaign on the strength of a pitching staff that boasts a team ERA of 3.13 and has held opponents to a .212 average (through 2/27). The roster is bolstered by a number of transfers, including starting pitchers Bradley West (Georgia College & State) and Drew Riley (Georgia State).
SAND SHARK BITES
• USCB is 97-38 all-time at Richard Gray Sports Complex.
• Senior C Mitchell Johnson has hit safely in four straight games and six of the eight he has played. Johnson, who boasts a team-best .385 average, missed Sunday's doubleheader vs. Fisher because of a death in the family.
• Sophomore OF Kyle Thompson ranks third in the NAIA with 16 walks, which represents more than one-quarter of USCB's team total. Freshman OF J.J. Crespo is next with nine.
• The Sand Sharks rank seventh in the NAIA in total triples (6) and 18th in triples per game (0.4). Senior Terry McClinton has two three-baggers — good for eighth in the nation — and Blake Cilwick, Mitchell Johnson, Jon Andrews and Brandon Joyce each have one triple.
• Junior 1B Erik Armstrong (7) needs two home runs to tie Brandon Collins for USCB's career lead.
RELATED LINKS
USCB Baseball Media Guide
USCB Baseball 2013 Statistics
USCB Sand Sharks on Facebook
USCB Athletics on Twitter
