HARDEEVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA — The University of South Carolina Beaufort baseball team hosted Wheeling for game three of the series, as the Cardinals claimed the series two games to one following a 17–12 victory. A six-run fourth inning gave Wheeling the lead, which they would not lose the rest of the way.
The Sand Sharks are now 2–2 on the season, while Wheeling improves to 2–1.
USCB was led offensively by Andrew Walters, who scored three runs while reaching base four times. Kris Levensteins drove in a team-high three RBIs in the game, including a home run. Cooper McDaniel and Noah Campbell led the team in hits with two apiece.
Wheeling jumped on the board early with a three-run first inning on two hits. Meyer singled in two runs to open the scoring, and Schultz later added an RBI single to give the Cardinals a 3–0 lead.
The Sand Sharks responded in the bottom of the second inning after a Maddox Robinson double put runners on second and third. Walters scored USCB's first run, followed by Robinson scoring on a sacrifice fly by Levensteins. Jon Davis later tied the game at 3–3 with a sacrifice fly that scored Tyler Gundelfinger.
The game remained tied into the fourth inning after a scoreless third, but Wheeling jumped out in front with six runs on five hits. A leadoff double led to a two-run single, and with the score at 6–3, a three-run home run pushed the Cardinals' lead to 9–3.
Wheeling added three more runs in the fifth inning to build a 12–3 advantage.
USCB answered in the bottom of the inning after a one-out single by McDaniel sparked a rally. He stole third and later scored on a Robinson RBI sacrifice fly. Gundelfinger singled in Walters, and Levensteins followed with a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 12–7.
The Cardinals responded again in the sixth inning, scoring four runs on two hits. After the first three batters reached base safely, an error led to a bases-clearing triple, extending Wheeling's lead to 16–7.
In the seventh inning, the Sand Sharks added a run on a wild pitch after Walters led off with a double and came around to score.
USCB scored four more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the deficit to 17–12. Raeder McIntire reached safely and moved to third on a balk before scoring on an error. Robinson, Davis, and Campbell also scored during the inning.
The Sand Sharks put two runners on in the final inning, but Wheeling worked out of the jam to secure the 17–12 victory.
USCB hits the road for four straight games, beginning with Edward Waters on Tuesday, February 10, before opening conference play with a three-game series against Georgia Southwestern State from February 13–15.
