HARDEEVILLE — The University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team pulled off one late comeback and held off another Sunday to finish a three-game sweep of Florida Memorial in Sun Conference play at Richard Gray Sports Complex. 

The Sand Sharks scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to claim a 5-4 win in the opener and survived the Lions' four-run rally in the ninth to hang on for an 11-10 victory in the second game. The sweep moved USCB (12-10, 5-4 TSC) into fifth place in the Sun Conference standings heading into a key home series against fourth-place Thomas (Ga.) next weekend.

USCB went ahead 3-1 in the opener on Brandon Joyce's two-run single in the third, but the Lions chipped away with one in the fourth and two in the sixth to take the lead. Gage Roth (2-2) worked out of a jam in the sixth and pitched three more scoreless innings to keep it a one-run game, and the Sand Sharks rallied in the ninth. 

JJ Crespo laced a one-out triple into the right-field corner and scored the tying run on a wild pitch, and back-to-back hits by Ashly Morris and Matt Kianka and a walk to Blake Cilwick loaded the bases with one out. Erik Armstrong then lofted a deep fly ball to center to score Morris with the winning run. 

Joyce had two hits and two RBIs to pace USCB's offense and Roth allowed just one hit over four innings of relief. Starter CJ Kelly also pitched effectively, allowing four runs — three earned — on four hits over five innings. 

Both teams' bats came to life late in the finale, as they combined to score 15 of their 21 runs from the sixth inning on. 

After allowing the Lions to score twice and tie it at 4 in the sixth, USCB scored three runs in the seventh on RBIs from Joyce, Aaron Bishop and Crespo to take the lead for good. 

Florida Memorial plated a pair of runs in the eighth to make it 7-6, but Armstrong and Jon Andrews each stroked RBI doubles during a four-run eighth to give USCB a comfortable cushion entering the ninth. 

The Sand Sharks needed that insurance, as the Lions scored four unearned runs before Stephen Richards got out of trouble when Kianka ran down a deep fly ball in the left-field corner to strand the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. 

Crespo and Andrews each went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Armstrong had three hits and an RBI to lead a 14-hit attack for USCB. Joyce also knocked in two runs and Cilwick was 2-for-4 with an RBI. 

Hunter Englehart (2-4) earned the win, allowing two runs on five hits over 2 2/3 innings of relief. 

The Sand Sharks open their series against Thomas with a single game at 3 p.m. Friday before playing a doubleheader at noon Saturday.