HARDEEVILLE — The University of South Carolina Beaufort softball team suffered its first home loss of the season Friday before rebounding to salvage a split of its Sun Conference doubleheader against Ave Maria at Richard Gray Sports Complex. 

The Sand Sharks' offense was stifled in a 4-1 loss in the opener, but Ashlie Layman tossed a three-hitter in the second game to help USCB earn a split. 

Ave Maria's Cheyenne Benson stole the spotlight in the first game, limiting the Sand Sharks to two hits in a complete-game victory and driving in all four runs for the Gyrenes. She opened the scoring in the third, when her at-bat was prolonged by a dropped foul pop and she drove the next pitch out to left for a three-run homer. 

The Sand Sharks broke up Benson's no-hit bid in the sixth inning when Whitley Martin reached on a bunt single and came around to score on pinch-hitter Amber Williams' double to left to make it 3-1, but Benson added an RBI double in the seventh and prevented a USCB rally in the bottom of the frame.

Layman was outstanding in the second game, allowing just three singles and two walks while striking out seven. USCB gave her a 2-0 lead on Maddie Byrd's two-out, two-run single in the fifth, and she made it stand up by getting out of a jam with limited damage in the sixth. 

Alyssa Colding's RBI single cut the lead in half, but Layman induced a soft popup on the infield to end the threat and struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh. 

The Sand Sharks (32-11, 11-3 TSC) wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader against visiting Warner on Saturday. The start time has been moved up to 11 a.m. due to the threat of rain in the afternoon, and USCB's nine seniors will be honored in a ceremony between games.