THOMASVILLE, Ga. — The University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team pulled off another late-inning rally in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday but was unable to finish off a three-game sweep of Thomas, settling for two of three in the key Sun Conference series. 

The Sand Sharks scored two runs in the ninth inning to force extra innings in the opener, and Terry McClinton's home run in the top of the 10th proved to be the winning run in a 6-5 victory. The Nighthawks rebounded to salvage the final game of the series, winning 10-1. 

USCB struck first in the opener, scoring on Erik Armstrong's sacrifice fly and McClinton's RBI single for a 2-0 lead after one inning. Thomas got two back in the bottom of the second and tacked on two more in the third and one in the sixth for a 5-2 lead.

The Sand Sharks chipped away with Ashly Morris' RBI single in the seventh but still trailed by two heading to the ninth. Blake Cilwick's RBI single in the ninth pulled USCB within one, and Brandon Joyce added a sacrifice fly to tie it. 

The Nighthawks loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but Andrew Barrineau worked out of the jam with a strikeout and a flyout to force extra innings. McClinton led off the 10th with a blast to left, and Barrineau worked around a pair of errors in the 10th to nail down the victory.

USCB didn't generate much offense in the nightcap, managing only seven hits. Thomas scored three runs in the first and six in the third, and starter Neal Hunter made the lead stand up with a complete game performance. 

The Sand Sharks (12-12, 5-7 TSC) travel to Brewton-Parker for a non-conference doubleheader at 2 p.m. Tuesday before going to Lakeland, Fla., for a weekend series with Sun Conference rival Southeastern.