MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The USCB baseball team had its seven-game overall win streak and its streak of 12 straight Sun Conference victories snapped with a 9-4 loss at No. 24 St. Thomas on Saturday, but the sixth-ranked Sand Sharks clinched a spot in next month's Sun Conference Tournament. 

The Sand Sharks (31-5, 13-2 TSC) took two of three in the series and hold a two-game lead – and the head-to-head tiebreaker – over second-place Keiser. USCB is the first team to clinch a spot in the six-team conference tournament, which will be played May 6-9 at City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Fla. 

USCB grabbed an early lead in the series finale on Kal Davis' RBI single in the first inning, but Jose Gomez answered with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning. The Sand Sharks regained the lead in the third, when Davis was caught in a rundown between first and second, allowing Thomas Estopare to score from third, but the Bobcats scratched across three runs in the fourth for their first lead of the series and never relinquished the advantage. 

USCB had a chance to tie it in the fifth when Brandon Joyce laced an RBI double to left, but Davis was cut down at the plate to preserve the Bobcats' 4-3 lead, and St. Thomas tacked on two runs in the bottom of the inning and another in the sixth. 

Davis and Matt Kianka each went 3-for-5 and Estopare added two hits and a sacrifice fly for USCB. Julio De Pena (4-2) took the loss, allowing six runs and seven hits over 4 2/3 innings. 

The Sand Sharks continue Sun Conference play next weekend, hosting third-place Webber International for a three-game series Friday and Saturday. The series is tentatively scheduled for a single game at 2 p.m. Friday and a doubleheader beginning at noon Saturday.