Sharkbites

Stop me if you've heard this one before ... USCB's baseball game today against Southern Wesleyan has been rained out. The game will be made up Wednesday as part of a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Both games will go seven innings. Ace left-hander Adam Miller will start the first game for USCB, with right-hander Kyle McCullough starting the second game.

Looks like it will be a beautiful day for baseball this afternoon, as USCB takes on No. 7 Embry-Riddle in the first game of a three-game Sun Conference series. If you can't make it out to Hardeeville's Richard Gray Baseball Complex, join me at 1 p.m. for live updates from the game.

If you can't make it out to the Richard Gray Baseball Complex today, join me at 2 p.m. for a live blog from undefeated USC Beaufort's home baseball game against Brewton Parker (4-2). The Sand Sharks are 5-0 and trying to keep the momentum rolling into this weekend's big series against No. 7 Embry-Riddle, the favorite to win the Sun Conference title.

This will be the maiden voyage for the live blog this season, so please bear with me, because I'm not sure about the internet situation at the "Shark Park" this year. Worst-case scenario, I will post from my BlackBerry, but that would mean no reader comments. See you at 2 p.m.

As a former wrestler and a lifelong wrestling fan, I'm thrilled that our area has become a hotbed for high school wrestling, as evidenced by Hilton Head High's third consecutive trip to the Class 3-A state finals and perennially strong programs at Bluffton, Battery Creek and Beaufort High.

It pleased me to no end to see the Bluffton High School gym packed for Wednesday's Lower State title match between the Bobcats and Seahawks, and to see that wrestling has been a popular topic of discussion on the blogs on our competitor Bluffton Today's Web site.

However, as the USC Beaufort beat writer and sports columnist for this newspaper, I felt it my duty to clarify a question that has come up within that conversation. The question, raised by wrestling fan/parent "dscott154," is whether USCB should launch a wrestling program. The answer, as much as I hate to say it, is a resounding "no," at least for the time being.

If you didn't make it out to the Richard Gray Baseball Complex, you missed a doozy of a doubleheader -- and a pair of impressive wins for the Sand Sharks, who swept a pair from 20th-ranked Warner University in both teams' Sun Conference opener. Here's my instant analysis, via the Shark Bites Rewind:

As you might expect, the rain and snow (!!!) that fell in the Lowcountry throughout Friday have left USCB's home field at the Richard Gray Baseball Complex something of a quagmire, forcing the further delay of the Sand Sharks' weekend series against Warner University.

Saturday's scheduled doubleheader has been called off because of soggy field conditions. The plan is to play the doubleheader at noon Sunday, though athletics director Kim Abbott said it's possible the field will still be too wet to play then.

Check back later for more details as they become available.

The expectation of bad weather Friday -- they're calling for a chance for snow, people! -- has prompted USCB to push back its weekend series against 20th-ranked Warner University. The move was made at Warner's request, athletics director Kim Abbott said, in hopes of avoiding a postponement Friday that would result in an extra night in a hotel for the visiting Royals.

As you die-hard fans probably know by now, the Sand Sharks opened their 2010 baseball season today with a 14-3 win against visiting Shorter College. I'm going to make it a habit of making this my first stop after covering a game and give you an instant analysis to rehash the day's events and set the stage for the next game.

Of course, there will always be more to read in the next day's paper, but I hope to give you enough to keep you scrambling back here after the game to read my thoughts. I'll try to come up with a formula and stick to it, but I might tweak it a bit early in the season until I settle on something I like.

Here goes:

Hello, hello, my baseball-loving friends. It has been a while since we got together over here, but USCB baseball season is here to save us from the winter doldrums. We'll have a full page and then some of preview material in Saturday's paper to get you primed for the season, but I wanted to formally kick off the season here on the blog, too.

I had a few things I couldn't fit into the preview package, and I also read somewhere that you folks who read things on the interwebs like lists, so I put together a little list of 10 things you need to know before opening day.

Without further ado, here they are:

Five USC Beaufort baseball players -- three pitchers and two infielders -- are among the 51 players who have been selected to play in the Sun Conference all-star game Saturday at Embry-Riddle's Sliwa Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla.