April 17, 2013
GGC 6, TWC 1
The Georgia Gwinnett baseball team used eight strong innings from freshman pitcher Sheldon Connor and three RBIs from Robbie Payne to knock off the NAIA’s defending national champion, Tennessee Wesleyan College, on Wednesday at the Grizzly Baseball Complex in Lawrenceville.
Connor (6-1) struck out five without a walk, helping to strand nine Bulldog baserunners.
Meanwhile, all nine GGC starters had at least one hit. Phillip Bates had three hits and scored twice while Austin Smith added two hits.
The Grizzlies improved to 27-21 and sent the No. 10 Bulldogs to 33-15.
“Sheldon pitched a terrific game for us today and was really the reason we were in position to win,” said Grizzlies head coach Brad Stromdahl. “We had a great all-around team performance. Phillip Bates did a great job in the leadoff spot and in all phases we put together a solid outing.”
The Bulldogs pushed across the game’s first run in the top of the first, but their lead was short-lived.
The Grizzlies answered with a score in the bottom of the inning as Payne doubled home Bates.
In the second inning, Smith singled, advanced on a throwing error and scored on Angelo Lombardo’s RBI single.
Connor stranded runners at second and third in the third inning with a strikeout and a flyout.
The Grizzlies struck for three runs in the fifth, using four hits and taking advantage of a Bulldog throwing error. Payne delivered a key two-run single in the inning as GGC went ahead, 5-1.
Connor induced a lineout to right to end the TWC seventh with runners on the corners, once again pitching around trouble.
In the bottom of the inning, GGC tallied its final score with three straight two-out singles, the last by Pat Long to score Sloan Strickland.
Christian Van Camp took the mound in the ninth for the Grizzlies, tossing a 1-2-3 inning to give GGC its second win over a ranked opponent this year.
Georgia Gwinnett snapped a three-game losing streak in the process and improved to 15-9 at home this season.
Stromdahl’s club hits the road before playing its final home series April 26-27 against Loyola University New Orleans.
