Feb. 9, 2013

Photo Gallery

Faulkner 3, GGC 2

GGC 4, Faulkner 1

The Georgia Gwinnett softball team picked up the first win in program history on Saturday in a doubleheader split with fellow NAIA opponent Faulkner University (Ala.) at the Collins Hill High School softball complex in Lawrenceville.

After a narrow 3-2 defeat in the opening game, the Grizzlies fought back with a 4-1 victory in game two to give first-year head coach Kat Ihlenburg her first career win.

Georgia Gwinnett (1-1) piled up 15 hits on the afternoon and committed just one error defensively.

Freshmen pitchers Tiffany Bailey (1-1) and Ashley Beyke combined for eight strikeouts and yielded just three earned runs over 14 innings in their first outings.

Sophomore Jordyn Fones' 4-for-6 day at the plate led the GGC attack as seven different Grizzlies picked up hits.

"I thought we were really alive today," said Ihlenburg. "We were definitely ready to come out and perform and for the most part we executed today. Nerves played into adrenaline and I can't complain about where we were in our first two games, we played very well."

Game One- Faulkner 3, GGC 2

Brittany Bruns drove in the Grizzlies' first ever score with an RBI single that plated Halley Ingram in the bottom of the first inning as GGC answered an early Eagles score.

Beyke helped keep the game tied into the fifth inning, when GGC loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly from Ingram scored Mary Ellen Pilitowski to put the Grizzlies in front, 2-1.

As Faulkner (1-1) threatened in the sixth, Bruns kept GGC in front with a diving catch at shortstop with runners on second and third. The next Eagles batter provided the game-winner however with a double down the left field line to score both runners for a 3-2 Faulkner lead.

The Grizzlies put the first two aboard in the seventh, looking for a last-inning rally. After a sacrifice bunt put the runners in scoring position, a strikeout and ground out cut the comeback short in the one-run loss.

Game Two- GGC 4, Faulkner 1

Faulkner jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning of game two, but Fones' 3-for-3 game helped GGC storm back.

Carrie Ann Bullard tied the game in the bottom of the second with an RBI single to score Fones.

The Grizzlies then pushed in front with a three-run third inning thanks to four hits, including a two-run single from Pilitowski. GGC also took advantage of a Faulkner throwing error to build their eventual winning margin.

After Bailey kept the Eagles from coming any closer, Beyke came on in the sixth inning and recorded the final six outs for her first save.

"It feels good to at least have one," Ihlenburg said of the team's first win. "We need to stay focused together during every part of the game. It's a matter of everybody staying on the same page all the time... that's what we're looking forward to."

The Grizzlies return to action on Wednesday, traveling to Waleska, Ga., for a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Reinhardt University. The team is back in Lawrenceville next Saturday as it hosts Embry Riddle for two at noon at the Collins Hill complex.