Meeting for the seventh time in their budding rivalry, the Sand Sharks wasted no time electrifying the home crowd. USCB peppered the outfield with three doubles in the opening frame, putting up a quick three runs. Jeremy Brown, Luke Doty, and Carson Weathers all smacked doubles, while Noah Campbell chipped in the first of his four hits on the night with a single up the middle. Brown, Campbell, and Weathers each drove in a run to stake Beaufort to the early 3-0 lead.

Sand Shark starter Alex Simmons kept the Pacers off the scoreboard through three innings, but USC Aiken broke through in emphatic fashion in the fourth. Seven Pacer runs came across to chase Simmons from the mound and flip the momentum squarely into Aiken's dugout.

USCB refused to go quietly, rallying in the sixth. Jake Tanner kickstarted the comeback attempt with an RBI single. Doty followed with another base hit before Campbell roped a double to the gap, plating two runs and trimming the deficit to one. Jon Davis then drove in the tying run, but Campbell was cut down at the plate trying to score the go-ahead run from second, keeping the game knotted.

The tie was short-lived. USC Aiken's Jack Hobson crushed a two-run homer off Cole Thomas in the seventh to reclaim the lead. Thomas settled down to end the inning with a strikeout of Eliud Poventud, but the Pacers now held a 9-7 advantage.

Aiken added an insurance run in the eighth on a wild pitch. The Sand Sharks continued to fight, as Weathers reached on a fielder's choice to bring home another run and cut the lead to 10-8. However, the Pacers slammed the door shut in the ninth, retiring USCB in order to take the series opener.

The rivals will meet again Saturday afternoon, with first pitch set for 2:00 p.m. The Sand Sharks will honor the Class of 2025 in a special pregame ceremony.