Fire Sweep USCB Series with Another Prolific Day at the plate

HARDEEVILLE, S.C.- The No. 1 Southeastern University baseball team put the exclamation point Saturday afternoon on what was a prolific weekend series at the plate. The Fire defeated the USCB Sand Sharks 15-1 in the finale to sweep the series 3-0. SEU 10-run ruled USCB in every game this weekend, outscoring the Sand Sharks a total of 58-3, the largest margin the Fire have ever outscored an opponent in a Sun Conference series.
A familiar bat got things started at the plate for SEU in the top of the first. Senior infielder Ivan Nunez doubled to center field, driving home Mike Taylor Jr to put the Fire ahead 1-0. Nunez hit .769 (10-13) at the plate this weekend with 11 runs batted in.
SEU saw a nine-inning scoring streak versus USCB end in the top of the second. In the bottom half of the frame, the Sand Sharks snapped a 13-inning scoreless streak against the Fire, batting in their lone run of the contest.
The Fire quickly pulled back ahead via a sacrifice fly by Taylor Jr. in the top of the third that scored Manuel Mesa.
Southeastern opened things up a bit in the top of the fifth, plating four runs on four hits. After a RBI single by Taylor Jr. and sacrifice fly by Nunez, junior outfielder Abdel Guadalupe launched his fourth home run of the season, a two-run dinger that put the Fire ahead 6-1.
Senior left-handed pitcher Austin Covers established dominance on the mound after surrendering the lone Sand Shark run. The East Carolina transfer retired 10 of the final 11 USCB batters he faced, totaling six strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. With the winning decision, Covers improved to 2-0 on the season.
After driving in three more runs in the top of the sixth, SEU blew things open with a six-run effort in the top of the seventh. RBI base hits by Colton Onstott, Willie Estrada, and Dan Valerio highlighted the big inning.
The Fire are back in action next Friday for a highly-anticipated MLB Spring Training Exhibition against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.