The University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team looks to bolster its postseason hopes when the Sand Sharks host Ave Maria for a three-game Sun Conference series this weekend. The teams are scheduled to play a single game at 3 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader at noon Saturday, but with rain in the forecast Friday afternoon, that schedule is subject to change. Schedule updates will be posted to uscbathletics.com and on Facebook and Twitter. The Sand Sharks have lost five straight overall and six consecutive conference games, but they remain in fifth place in the Sun Conference standings, one game ahead of sixth-place Thomas and two clear of seventh-place Ave Maria. The top six teams qualify for the Sun Conference Tournament.
SCOUTING AVE MARIA
The Gyrenes suffered a 6-4 loss at Rollins on Thursday but have won their last two Sun Conference series, taking two of three from Florida Memorial and Southeastern the past two weekends. Second baseman Aaron Pigna leads the offense with a .362 average, 10 doubles, two homers and 16 RBIs. Rico Soto (.310, 3 HR, 14 RBIs) also swings a good bat, while Ryan Keegan (.291, 3 HR, 25 RBIs) leads the team in RBIs and Nick Sacchetta (.250, 5 HR, 21 RBIs) leads the squad in home runs. Austin Comesanas (3-3, 3.10 ERA) has been the most consistent starter on the staff, and Justin Bureau (3-2, 3.12, 4 saves) is the Gyrenes' top reliever.
NOTES
• Junior RHP Blake Drew has seven saves in his first season with the Sand Sharks, setting USCB's single-season record. Drew's seven saves are tied for second on USCB's career list behind Kyle McCullough (11).
• Senior 1B Johnny Cole leads USCB with six home runs and has drawn 33 walks, breaking RJ Neal's single-season USCB record of 28 set in 2012.
• Senior SS Ashly Morris has 151 career hits, ranking seventh in USCB history, and needs four hits to tie Blake Cilwick for sixth. Morris has scored 102 career runs to move into sixth on USCB's all-time list, three behind Erik Armstrong for fifth.
• Morris leads the NAIA in hits this season with 60 and needs three more to enter the top 10 on USCB's single-season list. The Sand Sharks' single-season record is 78, set by Spencer Jackson in 2011. Morris has 90 total bases, second in the NAIA and tied for seventh on USCB's single-season list, and his 42 runs are fourth in the NAIA and tied for ninth in USCB history.
• USCB head coach Bryan Lewallyn is in his fourth season leading the Sand Sharks and has a 109-81 overall record. Earlier this season, he surpassed Rick Sofield as the program's career leader.
• USCB is 130-60 all-time at home, including a 12-8 mark this season.
• Through Thursday, USCB led the NAIA in hits (389), ranked fourth in runs scored (271), sixth in hits per game (11.114), 12th in runs scored per game (7.743) and 14th in batting average (.331).
• Senior RHP Junior Delatorre, the scheduled starter for Game 1, is tied for second in USCB history with 14 wins, trailing only Adam Miller (25), and ranks third in strikeouts (162) behind Miller (215) and Michael Heesch (196). Delatorre's 3.27 career ERA is sixth in USCB history.
RELATED LINKS
USCB Season Statistics
Sun Conference Baseball Standings
