HARDEEVILLE — The University of South Carolina Beaufort softball team celebrated Senior Day with a doubleheader sweep of visiting Warner on Sunday, beating the Royals 2-1 and 5-4 to wrap up the regular season at Richard Gray Sports Complex.

The Sand Sharks (34-11, 13-3 TSC) took the opener on Maddie Byrd's game-ending RBI single in the eighth inning and held off a late rally in the second game to finish the sweep and claim the No. 2 seed in the Sun Conference Tournament, which begins Thursday in Clermont, Fla.

Byrd, one of nine USCB seniors playing their final regular-season home game, went 3-for-4 in the first game and capped the contest with a single to right to score pinch-runner Whitley Martin. Amber Williams went 2-for-3 and drove in the other run for the Sand Sharks. 

Another senior, Kristy Cook, went the distance in the circle, allowing one run and four hits while striking out five to improve to 19-4. 

Two more seniors fueled USCB's offense in the second game, as Taylor Triplett went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Sam Boland added a two-run homer that proved to be the difference. Triplett's second RBI single of the game made it 3-1 in the fifth, and Boland followed with a drive to left field to make it 5-1. 

The insurance runs proved vital, as Warner rallied for three in the seventh before Ashlie Layman worked out of the jam to preserve the win. Layman (11-6) allowed four runs — three earned — on six hits and struck out six in a complete game.

The Sand Sharks will open the Sun Conference Tournament at 11:30 a.m. Thursday against No. 7 seed St. Thomas. Live stats and video for all games will be available through uscbathletics.com/live.