The USCB baseball team looks to continue its dominance at home and begin a new winning streak when the Sand Sharks host Fisher (Mass.) for a four-game series Friday and Saturday. The Sand Sharks had a 10-game winning streak snapped in a doubleheader split at Middle Georgia on Tuesday but are off to the best start in program history at 20-3.
FIN FACTS
• The Sand Sharks are 146-63 all-time at Richard Gray Sports Complex, including an 18-10 mark last season and a 10-1 mark in 2016.
• USCB has racked up the Sun Conference weekly awards thus far in 2016 with Sand Sharks claiming at least one of the two awards in each of the past four weeks. Junior OF Thomas Estopare (Feb. 15), junior C Nick Payne (Feb. 22), and senior OF Matt Kianka (March 7) each have earned Player of the Week honors, while senior LHP John Gora (Feb. 22) and junior RHP Julio De Pena (Feb. 29) have been named Pitcher of the Week.
• USCB's pitching staff has compiled a 1.91 ERA through 23 games, which ranks fourth in the NAIA through Thursday's games and is the second-best mark among teams who have played at least six games, trailing only Indiana Tech (1.19 in 11 games).
• The Sand Sharks have been aggressive on the bases, ranking 11th in the nation (through Thursday) in stolen bases (51), 21st in steal attempts per game (2.783) and 21st in stolen bases per game (2.217). Senior OF Matt Kianka leads the team with 13 stolen bases, followed by junior OF Thomas Estopare with nine.
• Senior OF Matt Kianka, the reigning Sun Conference Player of the Week, has hit safely in eight straight games and 20 of his last 21. He has six multi-hit games during the streak and is 19-for-32 with 12 RBIs and 13 runs scored over that stretch.
MILESTONE WATCH
• With 25 hits this season, junior 3B Brandon Joyce has 108 in his career, eighth on USCB's all-time list. Joyce needs three hits to match Ty Main for seventh on the career chart.
• Senior RHP Blake Drew collected his fifth save of the season and the 13th of his two-year USCB career Tuesday at Middle Georgia, adding to his school-record total. Drew set USCB's single-season saves record last year with eight and is also tied for seventh on the all-time list with nine wins, including one this season.
BY THE NUMBERS
5 – Junior OF Kal Davis has five sacrifice flies already this season, tied for second on USCB's single-season list and one off Erik Armstrong's record of six in 2014.
23 – The Sand Sharks have turned 23 double plays in 23 games this season, including at least one in each of the 11 straight games before having the streak snapped in Tuesday's loss at Middle Georgia.
65 – Junior 3B Brandon Joyce has drawn 15 walks this season and has 65 in his career, second in program history behind RJ Neal (67).
SCOUTING FISHER
The Falcons went 4-0 in the fall and won three of their first four games this spring before dropping five of their last six. They were swept in a pair of close games at Milligan (Tenn.) on Tuesday and Wednesday, losing 13-11 and 3-2. Fisher has taken advantage of its speed on the basepaths thus far, ranking third nationally (through Thursday) in stolen bases per game (3.214) and sixth in triples per game (0.571). The pitching staff has compiled a team ERA of 5.45 and has been hurt by an average of two errors per game, but senior RHP Grayson Weber has been outstanding, going 4-0 with a 0.33 ERA in four starts.
RELATED LINKS
USCB Schedule and Results
USCB Season Statistics
Sand Shark Baseball Record Book
Sun Conference Baseball Standings
