HARDEEVILLE -- USCB softball showed flashes of resilience and fire on Saturday afternoon, but a pair of tough breaks and a shutdown performance on the mound doomed the Sand Sharks in a doubleheader sweep at the hands of USC Aiken. A late-game comeback bid fell just short in the opener before the bats were stifled in a 10-1 loss in game two, as the Sand Sharks dropped both ends of the twin bill, 6-5 and 10-1.
Game one saw USCBÂ overcome a five-run deficit with a sixth-inning rally that electrified the home crowd. After the Pacers jumped ahead 5-0 through the first five frames, the Sand Sharks erupted in the bottom of the sixth. Jaden Goodwin and Saria Simmons set the table with back-to-back singles before Makenzie Fore's fielder's choice loaded the bases.
MJ Stradinger then roped a clutch two-run single up the middle, and a misfire from Aiken center fielder Lydia Johnson allowed Fore to race home from first, cutting the deficit to 5-3. Moments later, Allie McCleer reached on a fielder's choice, setting the stage for sophomore Alyssa Rose, who delivered a moment to remember with her first career home run—an opposite-field blast to right-center that knotted the game at five and sent the Sand Sharks' dugout into a frenzy.
But the magic ran out in the top of the seventh. Abigail Ramirez (3-1), who entered in relief and helped halt Aiken's momentum, surrendered a leadoff solo shot to Mallory Shaver, who launched a go-ahead homer over the left field fence. The Sand Sharks couldn't respond in their final at-bat, as their last two hitters went down swinging to seal a gut-wrenching loss.
USC Aiken carried that momentum into game two, jumping out early and never letting go. After scratching across a run in the first, the Pacers broke things open in the fourth, taking advantage of two-out defensive miscues by USCB to post a four-run inning and build a 5-0 cushion.
Taelor Chang provided the lone offensive spark for the Sand Sharks in the bottom half of the fourth, singling home Katelyn Boyette to make it 5-1. But the momentum was short-lived, as three errors to open the sixth inning doomed USCB. Aiken capitalized fully, plating five unearned runs to put the game out of reach.
USCB will look to bounce back and finish the regular season strong next weekend, as the Peach Belt Conference regular season champion North Georgia comes to town. The Sand Sharks and Nighthawks will square off in Hardeeville in a critical three-game series to wrap up the regular season.
