HARDEEVILLE — Senior shortstop Ashly Morris etched his name in the University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball record book Tuesday as the Sand Sharks swept a doubleheader from visiting Edward Waters at Richard Gray Sports Complex.
Morris became USCB's single-season leader in hits (79) and runs (54) as the Sand Sharks won 9-3 and 13-1 in their final home games of the season. Morris broke Spencer Jackson's mark of 78 hits in 2011 and Larry Perry's mark of 53 runs in 2010. The Savannah native already has established a new program best for total bases (123) and his six home runs and 54 RBIs rank second on the USCB single-season charts.
The Tigers took an early lead in the first game on Jesse Baker's two-run homer in the first, but USCB answered with eight runs on nine hits in the bottom of the inning. The score remained 8-2 until Nick Payne's RBI single in the fifth.
Kyle Thompson went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run, and Josh Reinhart and Payne each added two RBIs for USCB, while John Cloyd, Zack Saldivar and Chaztin Venezia added two hits apiece.
Gage Roth worked the first three innings, allowing two run, and Joe Schaffhauser (4-0) gave up one run over four innings for the win. The Sand Sharks made several outstanding defensive plays behind the pitchers, including back-to-back highlights from Morris in the fifth and a spectacular catch in left-center by Thompson.
USCB broke it open early in the second game, scoring four runs each in the second, fourth and sixth innings. Thompson's two-run double capped the big second inning, and Venezia's RBI single in the third made it 5-0.
The Tigers got on the board in the fourth, but Morris, Alex Bonilla and Johnny Cole smacked consecutive RBI singles in the four-run fourth.
Thompson finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Venezia drove in two runs. Cole was 2-for-2 with three runs and an RBI, Cloyd had two hits and scored twice and Bonilla added two hits. USCB's Zach Lomasney picked up his first collegiate hit and scored a run in the four-run sixth.
Five pitchers combined to limit the Tigers to six hits with Kutler Lane (2-3) earning the win with two scoreless frames. Jason Boulais, Josh Altman and Ethan Wright each worked a scoreless inning in relief.
The Sand Sharks (29-17) wrap up Sun Conference play with a three-game series at Webber International on Friday and Saturday and need one victory to clinch a spot in the six-team Sun Conference Tournament.
