April 1, 2014
GGC 8, Agnes Scott 6
GGC 6, Agnes Scott 5
Georgia Gwinnett (24-6-1) took both sides of a doubleheader against Agnes Scott (15-15) at the Grizzly Softball Complex in Lawrenceville on Tuesday evening.
Cassidy Littlefield hit a pair of solo home runs, leading off both games of the doubleheader with long balls. The first baseman leads the squad with four homers on the season and had five hits on the day.
Kayla Byrom (13-1) picked up both wins in the circle, both in relief. Halley Ingram also had with five hits, including a triple and a double.
Game One: GGC 8, ASC 6
Four Grizzlies had multiple hits, including Ingram and Heaven Hinton with three each. Littlefield and Alycia Fields both had a pair of hits as the team combined for 11, including five for extra bases.
Byrom earned the win after pitching 4.2 innings out of the bullpen. She did not allow a run and only surrendered a pair of hits and two walks.
Littlefield led off the first inning with a solo home run. Ingram and Hinton both followed with singles back up the middle. Ingram then scored on a sacrifice fly by Heather Kilar.
GGC added two more runs with two outs in the second inning to build a 4-0 advantage. Littlefield singled and Ingram followed with an RBI triple. With runners at the corners, the Grizzlies successfully executed a double steal, allowing Ingram to score from third.
The Scotties batted around in the third inning to score six runs on five hits, including four consecutive singles, to take a 6-4 lead. GGC starter Ashley Bekye surrendered all six runs before giving way to Byrom.
Georgia Gwinnett clawed back with three runs in the fourth inning off doubles by Hinton and Fields. With two outs in the frame, Marlee Morales walked, Ingram singled and both runners stole a base. Hinton then ripped a ball past the third baseman to drive both runners home. Fields followed with a double to give the Grizzlies a 7-6 lead.
The Grizzlies tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Hinton hit her second double of the game and Fields followed with a single. Hinton scored on a wild pitch, but pinch runner Carrie Ann Bullard was thrown out at home trying to score after Kilar reached on an error.
Game Two: GGC 5, ASC 2
Ashleigh Simmons hit an RBI fielder’s choice to drive in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. After Agnes Scott tied the score in the top of the frame, the Grizzlies loaded the bases on three walks and were able to walk-off on the groundout.
Byrom registered her second victory by tossing 2.0 innings of relief, allowing three runs on two hits. Georgia Gwinnett outhit Agnes Scott in the contest by a margin of 9-3.
Starting pitcher Chelsi Palazzo earned the no decision and only allowed one hit and struck out five batters over 5.0 innings with seven walks.
Littlefield led the game off in the exact same way she did the first game, with a solo home run over the left field fence. She finished 3-for-4 during the game and scored a pair of runs and stole two bases.
The Scotties loaded the bases on two walks and a single in the third inning. A wild pitch then allowed two runners to come home as the ball got away from the catcher.
In the fifth, Littlefield led off with a bloop single and came home on a double by Ingram, who was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. That tied the game at 2-2.
Haley Thompson led off the sixth inning with a triple over the head of the right fielder. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Kilar scored Thompson and gave the Grizzlies a late lead. After Jordyn Fones singled and Mary Burk reached on an error, Morales ripped a two-run triple down the left field line.
Agnes Scott scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the ballgame at 5-5.
Ingram and Hinton both walked to start off the bottom of the seventh. The Grizzlies pulled off the double steal to move the runners to second and third, and Thompson walked to load the bases before the final RBI from Simmons.
The Grizzlies travel to Montreat (N.C.) for a doubleheader on Friday, starting at 4 p.m.
