HARDEEVILLE, S.C. - USCB baseball had a pair of highly-competitive games with St. Andrews at Richard Gray Stadium on Thursday, as the Sand Sharks forced extra innings in game one (lost 7-5) and came back to win game two (2-1) to remain at .500 on the season. 

INSIDE THE GAME ONE BOX SCORE

Leandy Castro - 2-for-4, solo homer, single, walk

Marino Sorbara - 2-for-3, two singles, stolen base

Tavaris Terrell - 1-for-4, double, two RBIs

Justin Owen - 1-for-3, single, two runs, stolen base

Brian Bromley - five innings, five hits, three runs (all unearned), one walk, four strikeouts

Griffin Cassell - one inning, no runs, no hits, not walks, one strikeouts

HOW GAME ONE HAPPENED

The first three innings went by quickly for both clubs. USCB and SAU had a hit each in both the second and third innings, but all were left stranded. 

In the bottom of the fourth, USCB's right fielder Castro opened the scoring with a towering solo home run to left to give the Sand Sharks the 1-0 lead. 

St. Andrews responded in the top of the fifth with a trio of runs to take its first lead of the game. Frank Salimbene and Kris Allen collected hits to combine for the three-run inning for the Knights.

In the home-half of the fifth, Owen started the frame with a single up the middle. After a stolen base, Daniel Searles plated his teammate with a run-scoring hit to left to cut the deficit to one, 3-2.

The Sand Shark offense carried its momentum to the sixth inning, as it plated three runs to regain the lead, 5-3. Alexander Humphrey scored Wesley Ambrose (pinch ran following Castro's single) on a single to left field. After a pitching change and two strikeouts, Terrell cracked a two-RBI double to give the Sand Sharks the two-run advantage. 

Similar to USCB, SAU had two-out magic as well, as SAU's catcher Greg Izzo tied the game at 5-5 with a two-RBI double down the left field line. 

Going into extra innings, both teams were scoreless in the eighth, but St. Andrews again took control of the contest when Izzo plated a pair of runs off his two-out single in the top of the ninth. 

In the bottom of the ninth, USCB tried to mount a comeback, but a runner was left on base, as USCB fell 7-5. 

INSIDE THE GAME TWO BOX SCORE

Terrell - 1-for-2, single, RBI, walk

Castro - 1-for-2, single, two walks

TK Kennedy - 1-for-2, double

Matt Malatesta - six innings, five hits, one run, two walks, five strikeouts, win

Cassell - one inning, one hit, no runs, no walks, one strikeout, first career save

HOW GAME TWO HAPPENED

Opposite of game one, both teams had chances to plate runs in the first three innings. In fact, USCB had chances to plate runs in that stretch, as the Sand Sharks combined for three hits, three walks and six runners left on base. Neither team took advantage, though, to keep the game level, 0-0.

USCB and St. Andrews traded runs in the fourth frame to keep the game tied. SAU's J.R. Polak scored on a wild pitch, while Terrell tallied a RBI single to score Ambrose.

After a scoreless fifth for both clubs, USCB took advantage of a pair of SAU errors to pull ahead for the first time in the contest, 2-1. Jack Slavin started the rally with a seven-pitch walk, and Brian Meyer laid down a sacrifice bunt to move his teammate into scoring position. Terrell roped the ball to short, but the SAU infielder botched the play to score Owen (re-entered for Slavin) from second base easily. The Sand Sharks were able to get the bases loaded late in the frame, but Humphrey popped up to leave a trio of runners stranded. However, USCB came out of the frame up by one run.

Malatesta returned to the bump for the Sand Sharks to start the seventh, but after a four-pitch walk, Cassell came back to pitch for his second straight outing. A push bunt from SAU's Jaxon Snider put two runners on base, and the duo both moved into scoring position due to a wild pitch. With no outs in the frame and the go-ahead run on second, Cassell stayed confident, as he forced an infield fly, a strikeout and a ground out to seal the win and his first-ever save.

TEAM RECORD UPDATES

USCB - 2-2 overall

St. Andrews - 1-1 overall

WHAT'S NEXT?

USCB and St. Andrews will meet again on the diamond on Saturday, Feb. 6, as the two clubs will conclude its home-and-home series this weekend. First pitch of the seven-inning doubleheader is set for noon in Laurinburg, N.C.