The University of South Carolina Beaufort softball team hits the road for its second tournament in two weeks when the 12th-ranked Sand Sharks travel to Clermont, Fla., for the NAIA Southern Challenge on Friday and Saturday. USCB will face three teams from the Southern States Athletic Conference and one Sun Conference foe in the three-day event at National Training Center, home of the Sun Conference Tournament. 

The Sand Sharks will face Mobile (Ala.) at 3:30 p.m. Friday and square off with Truett-McConnell (Ga.) at 5:45 p.m.. Their first game Saturday will be a matchup with Brewton-Parker (Ga.) at 11 a.m., followed by a non-conference contest against Thomas (Ga.) at 1:15 p.m. Live video of all USCB games will be available to Stretch Internet subscribers. 

It's USCB's first trip to the National Training Center since winning the Sun Conference Tournament title there last May. The Sand Sharks (5-1) are looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season, 9-3 against host Savannah State in the Lady Tiger Invitational on Sunday. USCB won three of its four games in the tournament, including wins over NCAA Division I foes Savannah State and Morgan State. The Sand Sharks also knocked off Brewton-Parker 4-3 in eight innings, so their rematch Saturday is an intriguing one. 

The Sand Sharks will be closer to full strength than they were last weekend, as pitchers Kristy Cook and Caitlin Campbell are set to return after sitting out the Savannah State tournament because of illness. USCB enters the weekend hitting .276 as a team and holding opponents to a .213 average. The Sand Sharks have outscored opponents 31-23.