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HARDEEVILLE, S.C. — As walk-off wins go, the ones the University of South Carolina Beaufort softball team has grown accustomed to rate low on drama.
The Sand Sharks recorded two more victories on game-ending hits Saturday — their second and third such wins via the mercy rule in four games this season — by beating Southern Wesleyan 10-2 and 8-0 at Richard Gray Sports Complex.
Sophomore catcher Amanda Brown ended the first game with a two-run home run in the fifth inning, and junior second baseman Katie Rietkovich delivered a bases-loaded single to stop the second game in the sixth inning, as the Sand Sharks improved to 4-0 on the season.
The first home run of Brown's career was the third of the game for the Sand Sharks, who also got a two-run blast in the third from junior shortstop C.J. Browder — her third of the season — and a three-run shot in the fourth from sophomore center fielder Shelby Zipperer.
The Sand Sharks also went deep twice in the second game, both in the four-run sixth inning. Sophomore first baseman Taylor Triplett hit a solo a blast to right-center with one out in the inning, and sophomore third baseman Mariaha Sanborn followed with a two-run shot to left later in the inning. After three straight singles, Rietkovich lined a single up the middle to plate the final run and invoke the mercy rule.
USCB's pitching staff was characteristically dominant, allowing only seven hits in the doubleheader. Sophomore Kristy Cook (2-0) allowed two runs on four hits and struck out five to earn the win in the opener, and freshman Ashlie Layman struck out one in a scoreless fifth.
Sophomore Caitlin Campbell (2-0) was outstanding in the second game, striking out eight and limited the Warriors to three hits over a six-inning complete game. She walked one and didn't allow a runner past second base after the first inning.
The Sand Sharks will be back in action Sunday at the Savannah State Lady Tiger Softball Tournament, facing a pair of NCAA Division I teams. USCB will play Morgan State at noon and face host Savannah State at 4 p.m.
NOTES: Browder hit home runs in each of her first three games as a Sand Shark before failing to go deep in Game 2 on Saturday. … Junior OF Melanie Goolsby went 2-for-3 with two hit by pitches in the doubleheader and is 7-for-9 (.778) for the season. … USCB has outscored its opponents 35-5 and is hitting .380 as a team while limiting opponents to a .214 average.