zARDEEVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA – The University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team continued its three-game series with Wheeling University on Saturday afternoon, taking game two with a 16–5 victory. The Sand Sharks broke the game open with an eight-run eighth inning, highlighted by a Luke Doty grand slam.
With the win, the Sand Sharks improved to 2–1 on the season, while Wheeling dropped to 1–1.
Andrew Walters led the way for USCB with a four-hit, five-RBI, two-run performance. Luke Doty added two hits, a run scored, and four RBIs. Three other Sand Sharks recorded multi-hit performances.
On the mound, Ian Barnes tossed six strong innings, allowing just one earned run while striking out three. Matt Navarro earned the win with one inning of relief, striking out one batter.
After a scoreless first inning, the Sand Sharks struck first in the bottom of the second. Nicholas Barcelo opened the inning with a double to right field and later scored on a Walters RBI single to center, giving USCB a 1–0 lead.
Wheeling responded in the top of the third as a leadoff single, followed by another single and an error, allowed the tying run to score. Heflin, who advanced to third on the error, later scored on a sacrifice fly to give Wheeling a 2–1 advantage.
USCB answered quickly in the bottom half of the inning. Noah Campbell singled to right field to drive in Jon Davis and tie the game at 2–2. Cooper McDaniel then scored on a wild pitch to regain the lead, and Walters followed with another RBI single to push the advantage to 4–2.
Wheeling added a run in the fourth inning on two hits, cutting the deficit to 4–3.
The score remained unchanged until the seventh, when Wheeling tied the game at 4–4 after a leadoff single, stolen base, and RBI groundout. The Sand Sharks responded immediately in the bottom of the inning, plating four runs on two hits.
With the bases loaded, Walters delivered yet another RBI single to make it 5–4. Raeder McIntire followed with a two-RBI single, scoring Barcelo and McDaniel. Terry Dean later drove in a run with a walk to extend the lead to 8–4.
Wheeling scored once in the top of the eighth to cut the lead to 8–5, but USCB put the game away with an explosive eight-run bottom half of the inning. A diving double play by Barcelo helped end Wheeling's threat before the Sand Sharks took over offensively.
USCB opened the inning with four consecutive walks, including an RBI walk by Maddox Robinson. Walters then delivered a two-RBI single, followed by an RBI single from Mack Cromer. Doty capped the inning with a grand slam to extend the lead to 16–5.
Matt Cornwell pitched a scoreless ninth inning to seal the victory and set up the series rubber match.
The Sand Sharks will close out the three-game series against Wheeling on Sunday, February 8, with first pitch scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
Stay tuned to uscbathletics.com and follow Sand Shark Athletics on social media for the latest news, updates, and information.
