May River wrestling in lower state championship. Sand Sharks players earn honors
The May River wrestling team is headed back to the Class 4A Lower State championship.
The Sharks defeated region foe Hilton Head Island, 37-36, on Monday in the third round of the Class 4A lower state playoffs. May River will travel to Hartsville on Wednesday in the lower state championship. The winner advances to Saturday’s state championship at Dreher High School in Columbia.
May River made it to the 2021 4A championship while Hartsville was in the 2020 title match.
It was the second straight year two teams met in the playoffs. May River defeated HHI, 58-18, in the 2020 Lower State championship.
May River was one of two Lowcountry teams in action Monday. Aynor defeated Battery Creek in the third round of the Class 3A lower state playoffs.
College Softball
Two USC Beaufort players win honors
The Sun Conference announced its weekly awards and USC Beaufort softball swept the awards, as Sierra Bilinski won Pitcher of the Week and Ashlyn Alte claimed Player of the Week honors.
Alte, who started in all four games this past week at third base, leads the team in most offensive categories - batting average (.556), OPS (1.805), runs scored (7), doubles (3), walks (2) and on-base percentage (.583).
Alte posted two multi-hit games versus Montreat, as she went 4-for-4 in the doubleheader versus the Cavs. She also poured in five runs, three doubles and a pair of RBIs in the doubleheader.
Bilinski was the opening-day starter for the Sand Sharks, and she was stellar against Division II Anderson. The second-year Sand Shark pitched a complete-game shutout, which featured three strikeouts and only three hits allowed. She also featured three 1-2-3 frames against the Trojans.
Bilinski currently totes a .130 batting average against, an unblemished 1-0 record and a minuscule 0.86 WHIP.
The USCB softball team will return to action Saturday at Georgia Southwestern.
College Baseball
USCB’s Blume earns weekly honor
USC Beaufort junior pitcher Brandon Blume was named the Sun Conference’s Pitcher of the Week following his complete-game, 10-strikeout performance against Brewton-Parker last week.
This was Blume’s first career SUN Pitcher of the Week honor.
The Buford, Ga. native pitched the first game of the doubleheader on Friday versus Brewton-Parker, and he twirled a complete-game shutout. His final line was seven innings, no runs, three hits and 10 strikeouts. The 10 strikeouts doubled his total from his first appearance in a Sand Shark uniform, where he struck out five against Milligan.
The Sand Sharks return to action Thursday by hosting a four-game set with Georgetown College. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Richard Gray Stadium.