THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The USCB baseball team swept a doubleheader at Thomas on Saturday, taking two of three in the Sun Conference series and clinching a berth in the Sun Conference Tournament next month in Fort Myers, Fla.

The Sand Sharks are locked into the No. 5 seed in the six-team tournament but could face any of four teams in the first round, as the top four teams are separated by just 2 1/2 games entering the final weekend of conference play.

GAME 1 – USCB 9, TU 4

The Sand Sharks broke it open early, scoring two runs in the second and three each in the third and fourth. 

Bobby Wenthe opened the scoring with his 11th home run of the season leading off the second, and Michael Grunder added an RBI single later in the inning. Nick Payne's sacrifice fly and RBI singles from Wade Arduini and Mclean Hartz in the third inning made it 5-0.

The Night Hawks scored two runs in the third, but USCB ended any worry of a rally when Alex Murphy blasted a three-run shot for his fifth home run of the season an inning later.

Payne was 3-for-4 with an RBI, Murphy had two hits, three RBIs and three runs, and Wenthe had two hits and scored three times to lead the offense.

Justin Kortessis earned the win with eight solid innings, allowing four runs (two earned) and nine hits with six strikeouts, and Zac Burke pitched a scoreless ninth.

Bojangles' Player of the Game: Alex Murphy (2-for-4, HR, 3 runs, 3 RBIs)

GAME 2 – USCB 7, TU 6 (11 inn.)

Arduini had four hits including a two-run homer and drove in the tying run in the ninth and the winning run in the 11th as the Sand Sharks took the rubber match.

USCB fell behind 1-0 in the first, but Hartz tied it with an RBI single in the second and the Sand Sharks jumped ahead with a pair of home runs in the third. Brandon Joyce led off the inning with a blast to make it 2-1, and Arduini followed with a two-run shot.

The Night Hawks scored two runs in the sixth before Wenthe scored on an error in the seventh to make it 5-3, and Tanner Long's two-run blast and Dominic Berlin's RBI double in the bottom of the seventh gave Thomas a 6-5 lead.

Wenthe doubled with one out in the ninth, and Arduini came through with a two-out RBI single to score pinch-runner Noah Matthews and tie the game. Arduini delivered another two-out RBI single in the 11th to score Matthews, and Nick Constan sat down the Night Hawks in order in the bottom of the inning to seal it.

Constan struck out two in three perfect innings for the win. Wenthe and Kal Davis each had three hits and scored a run, while Joyce and Nick Graham added two hits apiece.

Bojangles' Player of the Game: Wade Arduini (4-for-6, 2B, HR, 4 RBIs)

FIN FACTS

Wenthe added to his USCB single-season record for home runs and moved within two of Erik Armstrong (13) for the career lead. … JoJo Markle stole three bases in the doubleheader and has 21 for the season, tied for second on USCB's single-season list behind Matt Kianka (24 in 2016). … Arduini is riding a season-best nine-game hitting streak, and all three of his home runs have come in the past five games. … Joyce has 127 career RBIs, six behind R.J. Neal (133) for the USCB record.

UP NEXT

The Sand Sharks travel to No. 17 Middle Georgia on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. contest.