WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team greatly improved its postseason prospects over the weekend, as the Sand Sharks finished off a three-game sweep of Northwood with a 7-4 victory Sunday.

The Sand Sharks (20-18, 10-11 TSC) moved a season-best two games above .500 with their first series sweep in Sun Conference play, and they climbed percentage points ahead of Thomas for sixth place in the conference standings, and USCB also holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Night Hawks. The top six teams qualify for the conference tournament.

After needing two late rallies in Saturday's doubleheader sweep, the Sand Sharks led from the outset in the finale. They jumped on Northwood starter J.D. Tyler for three runs in the first to give starter Matthew Graney an early cushion.

Graney turned in one of the best outings of his career, as he held the Seahawks hitless for four innings before giving up a run on four hits in the fifth, and Blake Cilwick's two-run homer in the sixth made it 6-1. 

Northwood scratched back within 6-4, but Caleb Daniels worked two scoreless innings to stop the momentum and senior Kyle McCullough pitched around a leadoff single in the ninth for his second save of the series. 

Cilwick was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs and J.J. Crespo was 2-for-4 and scored twice for USCB, which has won four straight to match its longest streak of the season. 

The Sand Sharks return home this weekend for a three-game Sun Conference series against Ave Maria. The series begins with a single game at 2 p.m. Friday followed by a doubleheader at noon Saturday.