Bobby Wenthe, Brandon Joyce enter record book as USCB splits twin bill

Bobby Wenthe blasted his 13th homer, tying the USC Beaufort career mark in one season, and Brandon Joyce broke the record for career RBIs as the Sand Sharks split a doubleheader Saturday with Georgia Gwinnett to open their final regular-season baseball series.

Wenthe’s three-run blast capped a four-run first inning in the opener, helping power the Sand Sharks to an 8-3 victory. Georgia Gwinnett had the hot bats in Game 2, scoring nine runs in the final four innings of a 13-4 romp.

Wenthe’s home run moved the junior-college transfer alongside Erik Armstrong’s career mark set from 2011-14. He broke the Sand Sharks’ single-season mark in early April with his ninth homer.

Joyce added a two-run double in the second, giving him 134 career RBIs to pass R.J. Neal’s mark set in the program’s first four seasons from 2009-12.

The Sand Sharks got one more record out of the game when Alex Murphy was hit by a pitch for the 14th time this season, surpassing Armstrong’s single-season mark. Wade Arduani went five innings for the win, scattering six hits and striking out six.

Murphy’s two-run homer in the second inning paced the Sand Sharks in Game 2, but they were shut out after the third. The Grizzlies broke a 4-4 tie with three runs in the fourth, adding four more in the sixth and two in the seventh.

This story was originally published April 30, 2017 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Bobby Wenthe, Brandon Joyce enter record book as USCB splits twin bill."