April 19, 2014
GGC 3, Coastal Georgia 0
GGC 7, Coastal Georgia 0
On a day when the Georgia Gwinnett softball team celebrated its inaugural class of five seniors, the Grizzlies posted 3-0 and 7-0 shutouts Saturday of Coastal Georgia at the Grizzly Softball Complex in Lawrenceville.
Georgia Gwinnett got a pair of complete-game shutouts from sophomore Ashley Beyke and junior Kayla Byrom to reach 17 wins in the team’s last 19 games.
Carrie Ann Bullard, Heaven Hinton, Halley Ingram, Heather Kilar and Marlee Morales were recognized for helping lay the foundation of the second-year program prior to game one.
All five players scored at least once on the day while Hinton and Kilar each had three total hits.
Cassidy Littlefield led all players with five hits over the two games.
Game One- GGC 3, Coastal Georgia 0
Three first-inning runs held up as starter Ashley Beyke (18-6) recorded her third shutout of the year with eight strikeouts over 7.0 innings, holding Coastal Georgia to just four hits.
Three of the Grizzlies’ five seniors scored or drove in a run during the very first at-bat of the day.
Littlefield started GGC’s first inning with a bunt single and after stealing second, scored on an RBI single up the middle from Ingram. Hinton followed with an RBI single of her own and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly from Kilar as GGC made it 3-0.
Beyke kept the Mariners off the scoreboard by scattering three walks and stranding all seven Mariner baserunners.
The Grizzlies needed just four hits on offense and went error-free defensively.
Game Two- GGC 7, Coastal Georgia 0
With the game going scoreless into the fourth inning, GGC used a five-run inning to jump in front for good.
Byrom (18-2) struck out four batters and allowed six hits with one walk over 7.0 innings, notching her fourth shutout of the year.
Littlefield went 3-for-4 with two RBIs as the junior infielder is now batting .491 on the year with 86 hits.
Neither team scored over the first three innings, but then the Grizzlies gained a 5-0 advantage in the fourth, capitalizing on a throwing error to extended the inning.
After a pair of singles by Hinton and Kilar to begin the inning, Bullard later put a ball in play with the bases loaded and forced an errant throw home as Kilar scored to break the scoreless tie. After another fielder’s choice that kept the bases loaded, Morales drove in Ashleigh Simmons with a single to left to make it 2-0. GGC added another run on a wild pitch before Littlefield drilled a two-run triple to the gap in left-center to make it 5-0.
The Grizzlies thwarted a Mariner rally in the fifth with an inning-ending double play on a pop-up to keep Coastal Georgia off the board.
Littlefield added GGC’s sixth run in the sixth inning by singling and later scoring from third on a wild pitch. Hinton then belted an RBI double to score Ingram for a 7-0 lead to cap the scoring on the day.
The Grizzlies are 17-5 on their home field this year and continue to set a new program mark for wins in a season.
