| No. 18 USCB (21-5, 9-3 Sun Conference) at No. 7 Northwood (19-7, 10-2) |
| Date & Time | Friday, 2:30 p.m. ET
Saturday (DH), 11 a.m. ET |
| Location | West Palm Beach, Fla. |
| Live Audio | Stretch Internet |
| Live Stats | Stretch Internet |
| Facebook | /USCBSandSharks |
| Twitter | @USCBAthletics |
| Head-To-Head | All-Time: USCB leads 13-5
Current Streak: Northwood won 1
All-Time At Northwood: USCB leads 6-3
Current Streak At Northwood: USCB won 3 |
The University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team travels to West Palm Beach, Fla., this weekend for a key Sun Conference series at Northwood. The 18th-ranked Sand Sharks and No. 7 Seahawks have been the league's biggest surprises so far this season with both vaulting into the top 25 this week after being unranked in the preseason. Northwood sits atop the conference standings and holds a one-game lead over USCB. Both teams are coming off series sweeps last weekend, as the Seahawks took three from Embry-Riddle while the Sand Sharks claimed three straight at Thomas.
SCOUTING NORTHWOOD
The Seahawks boast one of the top pitching staffs in the nation with a 2.80 team ERA and a .221 opponents' batting average. Northwood pitchers have racked up 235 strikeouts in 212 1/3 innings with Cody Gray (3-2, 1.70 ERA) leading the way with 48 strikeouts. Steven Bruce (5-0, 1.41) also is having a great season on the mound and Alan Carey (3-0, 2.87) has been effective as a starter and out of the bullpen. Northwood also has some pop in the lineup with Gabby Mundo (.409 BA, 13 SBs) setting the table and Keivan Berges (.367, 6 HR, 32 RBIs) and Casey Mullennix (.276, 5 HR, 17 RBIs) doing the most damage.
NOTES
• USCB head coach Bryan Lewallyn is in his fourth season leading the Sand Sharks and has a 108-73 overall record. He passed Rick Sofield (101) earlier this season as the program's career leader for wins.
• USCB has surpassed last season's overall win total and matched its Sun Conference win total from 2014.
• USCB's 15 home runs are more than the Sand Sharks hit in the past two seasons combined and their 236 runs already have exceeded last season's total in 43 games.
• Junior RHP Blake Drew has recorded a single-season USCB record six saves and ranks third in the nation. Despite being in his first season with the Sand Sharks, Drew is tied for third on the program's all-time list behind Kyle McCullough (11) and Colton Rudd (7).
• Through Wednesday, USCB led the NAIA in runs scored (236) and ranked third in hits per game (11.73) and seventh in runs per game (9.08). Ashly Morris leads the NAIA in hits (46) and total bases (74) and he and teammate Zack Holt are tied for second in the nation with 32 RBIs.
• Seniors Ashly Morris, Johnny Cole and Zack Holt each have four home runs this season, the first time three Sand Sharks have hit four or more homers in a season since Jon Schmidt, DeShontay Berry and TJ Kemp did so in 2009.
RELATED LINKS
USCB Season Statistics
Sun Conference Baseball Standings
