HARDEEVILLE, S.C. - The USCB baseball team welcomed its first nationally-ranked foe to the Lowcountry on Sunday, and No. 4 St. Thomas swept the doubleheader versus the Sand Sharks, 14-2 and 11-4, to take the series at Richard Gray Stadium in Hardeeville.
INSIDE THE GAME ONE SCORE
TK Kennedy - 2-for-2, double, single, RBI
Wesley Ambrose - 2-for-3, two singles, one run, one walk
Tavaris Terrell - 2-for-3, double, single
Matt Malatesta - five innings, four hits, no earned runs, eight strikeouts
Griffin Cassell - 0.2 innings, one hit, no earned runs, no walks, two strikeouts
HOW GAME ONE HAPPENED
The top-5 team jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in game one of the series in the first inning thanks to two hits and two USCB errors. Daniel Mondejar did most of the damage via a three-run home run with two outs.
USCB scratched away at the deficit in the bottom of the first and second innings, as it posted one run in each frame. Leandy Castro collected a RBI single in the first, and Kennedy cracked a double to right to account for the two Sand Shark runs.
Malatesta really settled in from the second to fifth innings, as he only allowed two hits in that four-inning stretch.
Unfortunately for USCB, STU's offense erupted for 10 unanswered runs from the sixth to eighth innings. Five of those runs came in the sixth, while four were scored in the eighth.
USCB's offense struggled to find momentum from the third inning-on, as it could only muster three combined hits in that stretch.
With the late offensive surge from No. 4 St. Thomas, the Bobcats secured the series-opening win, 14-2 in eight innings.
INSIDE THE GAME TWO SCORE
Castro - 2-for-5, solo home run, single, two runs
Daniel Searles - 1-for-4, double, two RBIs
Terrell - 2-for-5, double, single, run
Clint Sellers - 1-for-4, double, RBI, walk
Eamonn Collins - three innings, one hit, no runs, no walks, four strikeouts
HOW GAME TWO HAPPENED
Similar to game one of the doubleheader, STU jumped out to a quick lead, including three runs in the first two innings.
USCB's offense made it a one-run game in the home half of the second thanks to a rally to start the frame. Kyran Russ led off the inning with an infield single, and Terrell followed with a single to right to put runners at the corners. Searles made it hurt with a bases-clearing, two RBI double to left to make it a 3-2 contest.
In the next inning, USCB tied the game at 3-all when Castro annihilated a solo home run to lead off the frame. His third homer of 2021 also came on a full count.
After a quiet fourth inning for both teams, the Bobcats added a run in the top of the fifth and pulled away with a four-run sixth inning to make the contest 8-3.
The Sand Sharks tried to start a rally in the bottom of the seventh when Sellers cracked a RBI double to center. However, USCB couldn't add one more runs in the eighth and ninth innings, while STU added on three more insurance runs in the top of the ninth to take game two, 11-4.
TEAM RECORD UPDATES
USCB - 6-6 overall, 2-3 The Sun Conference
No. 4 St. Thomas - 7-4 overall, 4-1 The Sun Conference
WHAT'S NEXT?
USCB and St. Thomas will conclude the three-game series on Monday, Feb. 22 at 11:30 a.m. at Richard Gray Stadium. The contest will be streamed on the Sand Shark Game Day Network.
