Box Score HARDEEVILLE, SC -- The Ave Maria University baseball team fell short in their quest for a road Sun Conference series victory, falling 5-1 to the Sand Sharks of the University of South Carolina-Beaufort. The Gyrenes battled in the contest despite being outhit 13-5.
 
USCB's offense came early in the contest, as the hosts scored twice in both the second and third innings. In the second inning, the Sand Sharks had runners on second and third with two outs. Both runners, Michael Grunder and Alex Murphy, came in to score on a single from Thomas Estopare, which gave USCB a 2-0 lead.
 
That lead expanded to four runs in the next inning. USCB again had runners on second and third, this time with one out thanks to two singles and a sacrifice bunt. Consecutive singles by Murphy and Wade Arduini brought the runners across home plate, and supplied a 4-0 lead to the Sand Sharks.
 
Ave Maria got on the board with a run in the top of the eighth. Ryan Cook singled to lead off the frame, and Tully Allen reached on a one-out error to put runners on first and third. Steven Valentine drove in Cook with a single for the first AMU run of the day. The Gyrenes were able to load the bases, but could not add anything to the
4-1 deficit.
 
USC-Beaufort finished the scoring in the bottom of the eighth inning by adding one more insurance run. Grunder hit a leadoff single, and a walk to Tristan Triplett followed by a bunt had USCB runners on second and third. After another walk, Kal Davis flied out to left field, which allowed Grunder to tag up and score from third for the day's final run.
 
Of Ave Maria's five hits, two were provided by Valentine. Andy Hernandez, Matt Wiles, and Cook supplied the other three. On the mound, two scoreless innings from Deaven Phillips was the brightest spot for the visiting Gyrenes.
 
Ave Maria returns to the Sunshine State next week for a three-game conference series with Thomas University. The series begins with a Friday doubleheader, and the AMU home slate concludes on Saturday.