SAVANNAH – Three pitchers combined on a four-hitter to lead the eighth-ranked USCB baseball team to a 3-0 win over NCAA Division II opponent Armstrong State on Wednesday.
Forrest Kirsch, Zach Massengale and Blake Drew combined to shut out the Pirates, while Dylan Yankle had two hits and an RBI and Thomas Estopare and Michael Johnson each drove in runs for the Sand Sharks.
Kirsch (3-0) surrendered three hits over four scoreless frames to earn the win. Massengale allowed one hit and struck out one in three innings, and Drew gave up just one walk in two innings to earn his seventh save.
The Sand Sharks (39-9) opened the scoring when Estopare's RBI groundout in the fourth brought home Matt Kianka, who had led off the inning with USCB's first hit of the game. Yankle added an RBI single to score Estopare in the ninth, and Johnson's sacrifice fly brought home Brandon Joyce later in the inning.
Estopare also recorded his 22nd double of the season, matching Spencer Jackson (2010) for USCB's single-season record.
USCB wraps up the regular season this weekend, playing a three-game Sun Conference series at Warner on Friday and Saturday.
