March 2, 2013

USCB 7, GGC 6

GGC 12, USCB 8

The Georgia Gwinnett baseball team battled No. 21 USC Beaufort to a doubleheader split Saturday in Hardeeville, S.C., falling 7-6 before striking back for a 12-8 victory.

Junior Christian Van Camp had five hits and scored five times on the day to lead the Grizzlies (9-5), who snapped a four-game skid with their game two win.

Jereid Woods added four RBIs while Sheldon Connor earned his second win of the year.

Despite GGC taking a 5-0 lead in game one, the Sand Sharks (8-10) rallied for a walk-off win in their final at-bat.

In the second game, the Grizzlies built a 12-2 advantage through five innings before sealing the win.

Each game lasted seven innings.

Game One- USCB 7, GGC 6

A four-run first inning put GGC into the lead, highlighted by Sloan Strickland’s two-run triple.

The Grizzlies made it 5-0 in the fifth but USCB answered with five runs in the bottom of the inning.

After each team added runs in the sixth, Brandon Joyce’s team-high third hit of the day provided the game-winner for the Sand Sharks in the seventh inning.

The loss spoiled three scoreless frames by starter Bradley West and was GGC’s fourth one-run defeat of the year.

Game Two- GGC 12, USCB 8

Once again, the Grizzlies posted four runs in the opening frame. Pat Long and Van Camp drove in runs as GGC built an early lead for Connor.

Georgia Gwinnett took a 6-2 lead into the fifth inning, when six runs on three hits broke open the game. Phillip Bates and Kyle Norton drew bases-loaded walks before Woods belted a bases-clearing double. Woods later scored on a wild pitch as the Grizzlies made it 12-2.

The Sand Sharks scored four times in the bottom of the inning and cut the deficit to four in the seventh, when Austin Smith nailed down the win with a bases-loaded strikeout and the tying run at the plate.

Sloan Strickland finished with four hits and three RBIs on the day.

Georgia Gwinnett returns in-state on Monday, facing Emmanuel College for a single game in Franklin Springs at 5 p.m.