NORTH CAROLINA – The University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team faced No. 5/8 ranked Lenoir-Rhyne University on Tuesday afternoon. The Sand Sharks held an early lead before the Bears scored in their final four innings at the plate to secure a 21–6 victory.
USCB falls to 3–6 on the season, while Lenoir-Rhyne improves to 6–1.
Raeder McIntire led the Sand Sharks with three hits and scored twice. Cooper McDaniel added a multi-hit performance with two hits. Maddox Robinson drove in a team-high two runs, while Kris Levensteins and Luke Doty each recorded an RBI.
The Sand Sharks recorded a hit in the first inning, but a double play ended the threat. Lenoir-Rhyne struck first with back-to-back extra-base hits, a double followed by a triple, to take a 1–0 lead. A sacrifice groundout brought home another run to make it 2–0.
USCB answered in the next half-inning as Doty led off with a solo home run to cut the deficit in half. Later in the inning, Levensteins delivered an RBI single to score Terry Dean and tie the game at 2–2.
The Bears loaded the bases in the third but were unable to capitalize, as a strikeout ended the inning and kept the game tied.
McIntire opened the fourth with a double to right field. A walk and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases before Robinson delivered a two-RBI single up the middle, scoring Jon Davis and McIntire to give the Sand Sharks a 4–2 lead.
The Sand Sharks' lead lasted until the bottom of the fifth. After a one-out walk, a two-run home run tied the game at 4–4. The Bears then added two more runs on an RBI double to left-center and a throwing error to take a 6–4 advantage.
Lenoir-Rhyne extended its lead in the sixth with a five-run inning, highlighted by an RBI single, a two-RBI double, and a two-run home run to make it 11–4.
USCB plated a run in the seventh in a first-and-third situation, executing a double steal that allowed Robinson to score.
The Bears struck for nine runs in the seventh on seven hits, including a three-run home run, to build a 20–5 lead. McIntire later singled and came around to score for the Sand Sharks' final run of the game.
Lenoir-Rhyne closed out the 21–6 win on Tuesday afternoon.
USCB returns home Friday at 6:00 p.m. to open a three-game conference series against Augusta University, marking the Sand Sharks' first home conference series of the season.