March 1, 2013
Thomas 3, GGC 0
SWU 10, GGC 4
Freshman pitcher Ashley Beyke allowed just two earned runs over 10.0 combined innings of work but the Georgia Gwinnett softball team dropped a pair of games Friday in round-robin action to Thomas University and Southern Wesleyan University at the Collins Hill High School complex in Lawrenceville.
The Grizzlies (3-7) fell victim to a one-hit shutout against Thomas (5-5) in a 3-0 defeat before running into some hot SWU (7-3) bats in a 10-4 loss in the nightcap.
Beyke recorded seven strikeouts over the two games. The Franklin, Tenn., native tossed all seven innings in the opener, then three scoreless frames against the Warriors.
Seven defensive errors on the day contributed to the Grizzlies playing from behind for much of the day.
“When we’re making errors on defense, it’s costing us a lot of runs,” Grizzlies head coach Kat Ihlenburg said. “We are a never quit team and our offense has been still been firing. We just never were able to pick up that critical run today. We have been getting runners on base it just comes down to executing.”
Game One- Thomas 3, GGC 0
The Grizzlies managed just one hit against Night Hawks pitcher Alexa Fair as the hurler tossed a complete game shutout.
Marlee Morales’ single accounted for one of only three baserunners in the game for GGC.
Beyke kept the Grizzlies close by holding the Night Hawks scoreless over the final five innings but some early errors from the GGC defense gave Thomas all the runs it would need.
Game Two- SWU 10, GGC 4
The Grizzlies came out swinging in their second game, notching a pair of runs in the first inning for a 2-0 lead. Ashleigh Simmons’ two-run double scored Heaven Hinton and Jordyn Fones.
The Warriors staged a two-out rally in the second and scored seven total runs in the inning to storm back in front.
Georgia Gwinnett answered again in the next inning when Mary Ellen Pilitowski drove in a pair with a two-out single, but three runs was as close as the Grizzlies would get the rest of the game.
Southern Wesleyan added to its lead in the fourth and fifth innings to seal the win.
In Friday’s middle game, Southern Wesleyan defeated Thomas in a five-inning run rule, 9-1.
The action continues with three games Saturday as the Grizzlies face Thomas at noon before Southern Wesleyan at 2 p.m. The Night Hawks and Warriors wrap things up at 4 p.m.
“We are a team that can come out and hit the ball hard and be competitive,” Ihlenburg said of Saturday’s matchups. “We are going to attack on defense like we have been on offense and put together a pitching plan to keep them off balance.”
