Feb. 18, 2014

GGC 4, TMC 3

Sophomore Sheldon Connor tossed 7.2 strong innings and the Georgia Gwinnett baseball team held on to a one-run lead to defeat Truett-McConnell, 4-3, at the Grizzly Baseball Complex in Lawrenceville Monday night.

The Grizzlies answered the Bears’ three early runs with three of their own in the second inning and tallied the game-winner in the fifth to improve to 7-3 on the year.

Connor (1-0) allowed three runs, two earned- all in the second inning- but settled down and yielded only three more hits in pitching into the eighth inning, striking out five.

Ryan Turner and Zeke McGranahan recorded the final four outs on the mound to preserve the GGC win.

The Grizzly offense needed just six hits on the night, two of which came off the bat of senior Jake Fields.

The Bears (2-7) opened the scoring with three runs in the top of the second on only one hit. The first run scored on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch while a fielding error allowed two more runs to come home.

GGC then used four hits, including a pair of triples, to score three runs in the bottom of the second inning and tie the game. After a Fields single, Ty Abbott tripled to drive home the first score for the Grizzlies. Abbott then came home on another triple from Sloan Strickland. An infield single from Antonio Allen scored Strickland to make it 3-3.

Robbie Payne drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Allen, who stole four bases in the game.

The Bears were held to just four total hits in the game and McGranahan tossed a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his first save of the season.

Georgia Gwinnett returns to action on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. at home against Cumberland (Tenn.).