HARDEEVILLE, S.C. – The USCB softball team bounced back from its first defeats of the season with an impressive sweep of visiting Middle Georgia on Saturday at Richard Gray Sports Complex.

The Sand Sharks were sound in every aspect of the game, beating the Knights 6-1 in the opener before winning the finale 8-0 in five innings. 

GAME 1 – USCB 6, MGA 1

The Sand Sharks jumped on Middle Georgia ace Meagan Coleman early, scoring two runs in the first inning and three in the second, and Abby Pac made sure the lead stood up. 

Kayla Boyle doubled home a run and Alexa Moore added an RBI single in the first inning, and Boyle's two-run double and Lauren Weidig's RBI infield single in the second made it 5-0. Tiawna Altman added an RBI groundout in the fifth.

Pac struck out four and limited the Knights to three hits over six scoreless innings, and Rachel Catt pitched the seventh in her collegiate pitching debut. 

Moore went 3-for-4, and Boyle, Marissa Becker and Weidig each had two hits. 

Bojangles' Player of the Game: Abby Pac (6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 4 K)

GAME 2 – USCB 8, MGA 0 (5 inn.)

The Sand Sharks again struck early, pushing across two runs in the first, four in the second and two in the third en route to the run-rule victory.

Boyle drove in a run with a groundout in the first and added two-run singles in the second and third to power the offense, and Taylor Boykin walked three times and scored three times in the leadoff spot.

Freshman Jordan Roney pitched four scoreless innings for the win, striking out two and allowing four hits, and Naomi Catt worked a perfect fifth to preserve the shutout.

Bojangles' Player of the Game: Kayla Boyle (2-for-3, 5 RBIs)

FIN FACTS

It was Youth Day for Sand Shark Softball, and a local travel team took the field with the Sand Sharks for the introduction of starting lineups and the national anthem. … Moore has seven RBIs through six games. She had eight in 39 games as a freshman last season. … Becker swiped her fourth stolen base of the season and has 37 in her career, six shy of Sammi Shaffren's school record.

UP NEXT

The Sand Sharks host the NAIA Southeastern Challenge starting Thursday and will play six games in three days against top competition. Eight of the top teams from the Southeast will compete Thursday through Saturday with games on two fields each day. Tournament passes are $25, while daily passes are $10 for general admission and $5 for seniors (55+) and retired or active military. Students and Sand Shark Club members are admitted free.