HARDEEVILLE, S.C. – The USCB baseball team used a senior-led effort to claim a 5-1 Senior Day win – and a Sun Conference series victory – over Ave Maria on Saturday at Richard Gray Sports Complex.

USCB celebrated its nine seniors in a pre-game ceremony, and several of them remained in the spotlight during the game. Senior right-hander Justin Kortessis struck out eight over 7 1/3 innings, limiting the Gyrenes to one unearned run and four hits to earn the win, and his fellow seniors combined for six hits and four RBIs. 

Senior Thomas Estopare gave the Sand Sharks a 2-0 lead with a two-run single in the second, and junior Alex Murphy and senior Wade Arduini added RBI singles in the third for a 4-0 lead.

The Gyrenes didn't get a hit until Andy Hernandez's two-out double in the fourth, and Kortessis kept them off the board until the eighth, when a one-out error set up Steven Valentine's RBI single.

Junior Michael Biasello came on in relief of Kortessis with one out in the eighth and induced a flyout before striking out Hernandez to leave the bases loaded.

Senior Kal Davis added a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth to make it 5-1, and Biasello worked around an error and a hit in the ninth to earn his fifth save.

Davis was 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run, Estopare was 2-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base, and two RBIs, and Murphy was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run.

Bojangles' Player of the Game: Justin Kortessis (7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K)

UP NEXT

The Sand Sharks play their next 12 games on the road, beginning with a trip to Webber International for a three-game Sun Conference series beginning at 6 p.m. Friday.