HARDEEVILLE, S.C. - The USCB softball team kicked off its four-game homestand with a pair of wins, as the Sand Sharks bested Columbia International, 5-0 and 10-2, to earn its first sweep and wins of the 2023 season.
INSIDE THE GAME ONE BOX SCORE
Ashlyn Alte - 2-for-3, two doubles, three RBIs
Cierra Kinlaw - seven innings, win, four hits, five strikeouts, one walk, no runs
Mackenzie Freeman - 2-for-3, two singles, two runs
Addie Reynolds - 1-for-3, single, two runs
Chloe Turner - 1-for-3, double
HOW GAME ONE HAPPENED
After a quick one-and-a-half innings, USCB broke onto the scoreboard in the second thanks to a CIU throwing error. Freeman touched home when the CIU catcher made an errant throw on Zinia Hampleton's stolen base.
Two innings later, USCB started to add cushion to its lead with a pair of runs off four hits. Reynolds and Freeman started the inning with two singles. Hampleton followed with a sac fly, and Alte cleared the bases with her double to advance the lead to three, 3-0.
After leaving one Ram on base in the fifth, USCB again tacked on a crooked number in the bottom of the fifth when Alte cracked another clutch double, which plated a pair of Sand Sharks.
CIU threatened to score runs in the top of the sixth when it posted a pair of hits, but Kinlaw stayed poised in the circle to hold the Rams scoreless.
Moving to the seventh inning, Kinlaw mowed down the Ram lineup to seal USCB's first win of the season, 5-0.
INSIDE THE GAME TWO BOX SCORE
Reynolds - 3-for-3, homer, two singles, three RBIs, two runs
Alte - 3-for-4, three singles, two runs, one RBI
Alyssa Smith - 3-for-4, double, two singles, two runs
Daryn Miller - 2-for-3, double, single, two RBIs, one run
Freeman - 2-for-3, double, single, two RBIs, one run
Taylor VanHouse - 2-for-3, two singles, two runs
Reghan Steifle - two innings, win, four hits, one run, two walks, three strikeouts
Caitlin Toole - three innings, save, three hits, one run, two walks, two strikeouts
HOW GAME TWO HAPPENED
After clawing out a scrappy game one win, the Sand Sharks didn't need to result to that tactic in game two, as they cruised to an easy eight-run win, 10-2.
USCB plated runs early and often, which featured four-run innings in the first and second frames. Alte connected with a RBI single in the first, while Reynolds gave USCB its first lead of the day via her first homer of the season, a two-run last to left. Rounding out the offense in the first inning for the Sand Sharks was a run-scoring at-bat for Harlee Walker.
In the second inning, Miller started the scoring with a RBI single, while Freeman tallied two runs for the Sand Sharks with her single to center field. To make it a seven-run contest, Chloe Turner earned a sac fly to push the game to 8-1.
One innings later, the third inning, Miller earned a RBI when she put the ball in play, which scored VanHouse - who reached base earlier in the inning via a single.
CIU made it a seven-run contest in the top of the fourth, 9-2, but the Sand Sharks walked the game off in the bottom of the fifth thanks to three hits and the ultimate game-winning sac fly from Reynolds.
RECORDS UPDATE
USCB - 2-2 overall
Columbia International - 0-2 overall
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Sand Sharks will conclude the six-game week by welcoming Limestone to the Lowcountry. USCB entertains the Saints with a doubleheader beginning at noon at Richard Gray Stadium.
