AU baseball, softball win series against USC Beaufort

By Justin Gray | Sports editor

The Augusta University baseball team continued its Peach Belt Conference dominance with a sweep of USC Beaufort, winning by scores of 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.  

Due to inclement weather, the series didn’t begin until Sunday, March 24, when the Jaguars and Sand Sharks played a double-header.  

Graduate student Mason Bernard took the mound in game one and he was magnificent, going seven innings and allowing only one earned run.  

Behind the ace’s performance, the bats continued to stay hot as they scored five of their six runs in the third inning. They did so by stringing together several singles.  

USCB fought back in the seventh with two runs of their own, but the Jaguars tacked on another insurance run in the ninth to come away with a victory.  

Four Jaguars had multi-hit games, those being Parker Ingram, Zach Kwiatkowski, Jake Vachon and Koby Ayala.  

In the first inning of game two, the Jaguars got rolling again with Ingram scorching a three-run home run. 

In the end, that was all the Jaguars needed to win the game, but they scored three more along the way for the 6-1 victory.  

Will Cantrell got the win on the mound, going a complete game, allowing only seven hits and one run. He struck out eleven batters in his fourth win of the season.

With the Jaguars winning the series in game two, there was only one thing to do. Get their second straight PBC sweep.  

AU jumped out to another lead in the fourth inning on another Ingram home run. This one a two-run shot. The Jaguars added another in the fifth on a Kyle Lodise single.  

USCB answered in the bottom half to tie the game for the first time in the series at 3-3.  

The score stayed the same until the ninth, when Ayala smashed a double to take a two-run lead. Lodise added an insurance run on a single.  

USCB tried to make a comeback, but they fell short and the Jaguars picked up the sweep.  

This is Augusta’s seventh win in their last eight and they are now 9-3 in the conference. That record is good enough for them to be tied for first place in the PBC. 

AU will host USC Aiken on Tuesday, March 26, at SRP Park for the Battle for the Paddle.  First pitch is 6:30 p.m.

 Jag softball wins two of three from Sand Sharks

The softball Jaguars came into the series losing their last seven games, but were able to get out of that funk with a series win over USC Beaufort this past weekend.  

AU found themselves down 2-0 after four and a half innings of play, but Cadance Winder got the Jaguars on the board with a solo home run. Lauren Slade tied the game with a single, driving in Shelbie Summerlin.  

USCB took the lead once again in the top of the sixth inning, 3-2.  

Bailee Roberts came to the plate in the bottom half, knocking a ball out of the yard to tie the game. Lauren Barrett came up two batters later and gave the Jaguars the 4-3 lead on another solo home run.  

USCB scored once again in the seventh to tie the game, but when the Jaguars came up in the seventh they were determined to end it.  

Roberts was able to do so, driving in Slade to give AU the win.  

In game two, USCB answered, winning a chaotic 9-8 game at Jaguar Field as the Jaguars got down early and their comeback bid failed.  

Winder and Roberts both homered once again in the second game.  

The AU loss set up a rubber match on Monday, March 25.  

USCB got the scoring going in game three of the series, with two in the first inning.  

Lauren Evens was able to tie things up in the second inning with a two-run home run. Winder scored on the hit. 

The Sand Sharks took yet another lead in the fourth, with two runs and added to that with one in sixth.  

From there on it was all Augusta. The Jaguars totaled seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 9-5 lead.  

They did so by taking advantage of free base runners and driving them in on extra base hits.  

The Jaguars improve to 14-22 with the wins and 4-11 in conference play.  

This marks the first PBC series win of the season for the Jaguars. 

Next up, they will head to Milledgeville to take on Georgia College for a doubleheader on Friday, March 29 and the third game on Saturday.  

 Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.

AU shortstop Shelbie Summerlin makes a throw to first in the Jaguars’ series with USC Beaufort. At the top of the page, Lauren Barrett (2) had three hits in the series, including a home run. (photos by Paula Toole, AU Athletics)