WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - To end its historic run in the Sun Conference Tournament, the USCB baseball team was swept in the league's championship games, 9-1 and 16-4, on Sunday afternoon at FITTEAM Ballpark.
INSIDE THE GAME ONE BOX SCORE
Daniel Searles - 2-for-3, two singles
Kyran Russ - 1-for-5, double, RBI
Brian Meyer - 1-for-4, single, one run
Leandy Castro, Alexander Humphrey and Marino Sorbara - one single each
Javier Saenz - 3.1 innings, four hits, two runs, two walks, one strikeout
Cam Mathis - one inning, one hit, no runs, no walks, one strikeout
Griffin Cassell - one inning, no runs, no hits, no walks
HOW GAME ONE HAPPENED
The top-seeded Fire opened the scoring with five unanswered runs in the first two innings. That stretched ended in the top of the third with a Sand Shark run. Meyer was hit by a pitch, and Russ followed with a run-scoring double to make the contest 5-1.
SEU quickly answered in the bottom of the third with a pair of runs off three hits.
Southeastern was held scoreless for the first time in the bottom of the fourth, but in the home half of the fifth, the Fire tacked on two insurance runs to take the eight-run advantage, 9-1.
USCB had several chances to score runs, as it left a pair of runners on base in the fifth, sixth and ninth innings.
Overall, the Sand Sharks totaled seven hits, two walks and 11 runners on base.
With the 9-1 win, the Fire forced a winner-take-all championship game that followed the conclusion of game one.
INSIDE THE GAME TWO BOX SCORE
Russ - 1-for-4, double, two RBIs
Meyer - 2-for-4, single, double, one run, one RBI
Castro - 2-for-5, single, double, one run
Mathew Morgan - 2-for-2, two singles
Brevon Harper - 1-for-2, single
Mathis - one inning, two hits, no runs, no walks, one strikeout
HOW GAME TWO HAPPENED
Southeastern's offense picked up where it left off from the first game with 13 unanswered runs in the first six innings.
USCB had a hit in the first, second and fourth innings, but no Sand Sharks were able to touch home.
That scoreless stretch ended in the home half of the sixth with a pair of runs for USCB. Meyer walked, and Castro followed with a single. Russ cracked a double down the left field line to clear the bases and gave USCB its two runs.
The Fire tacked on three more runs in the eighth and ninth innings to extend its lead, 16-2.
The Sand Sharks didn't cave, despite being down 14 runs, as they plated a pair of runs in the ninth. Morgan singled to start the inning, and Marino Sorbara and his classmate exchanged places on a fielder's choice. Brock Thibodeaux was hit by a pitch, and Tavaris Terrell lined out for the second out. Moving to third on the lineout was Sorbara, and Meyer scored him on a double down the left field line. To cap off the scoring, Thibodeaux scored on a wild pitch, and the last out was recorded via a groundout.
TEAM RECORD UPDATES
No. 6 USCB - 31-21 overall
No. 1 Southeastern - 47-7 overall