April 23, 2014
GGC 6, North Georgia 5
A walk-off single by senior infielder Sloan Strickland lifted No. 6 Georgia Gwinnett (42-8) over North Georgia (19-24), 6-5, at the Grizzly Baseball Complex in Lawrenceville on Wednesday evening on Senior Night, the Grizzlies’ final regular season home game of the year.
With no outs and the bases loaded in the ninth inning, Strickland hit an RBI single to right field to score fellow senior Eli Green from third base for the winning run and end a back-and-forth game that saw three ties and three lead changes.
Sixteen seniors were honored before the game, a tribute to the group that has helped lead GGC to 72 wins over the first two seasons of the program. All 10 of the Georgia Gwinnett starters were seniors and all active seniors on the roster saw action in the game.
“It was a tremendous collective effort tonight by our team, led by our senior class,” said Grizzlies head coach Brad Stromdahl. “This has been a fantastic group of players and their desire to win on Senior Night was the deciding factor in the game. With every one of them contributing tonight in a significant way, it was a very successful night.”
Senior Zeke McGranahan (2-1) earned the win after pitching a hitless inning of relief in the top of the ninth.
Offensively, senior Phillip Bates went 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored and senior Robbie Payne hit a pair of doubles, including one in the ninth that turned into the game-winning run.
Despite not factoring in the decision, senior starter Tyler Carpenter finished with a career-high 10 strikeouts over 7.0 innings, only one strikeout shy of the single-game school record.
“This has been the hardest-working group of guys I’ve ever been around,” said senior outfielder Jake Fields, who drove in two runs Wednesday night. “This is the best team I’ve been a part of.”
A leadoff triple by Bates netted the Grizzlies a run in the bottom of the first inning. Bates scored as Fields reached on a throwing error by the UNG shortstop.
The Nighthawks grabbed a lead in the fourth inning on three unearned runs thanks to two hits and a two-base error. North Georgia added another run in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly to take a 4-1 lead before the Grizzlies responded.
The Grizzlies answered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the ballgame. After Bates walked and Fields singled, Payne doubled down the first base side to score Bates. John Fidanza walked to load the bases and Pat Long walked to drive home Fields from third. Payne scored the tying run when Strickland reached on a fielder’s choice that forced out Long at second.
GGC retook the lead with a run in the sixth inning without recording a hit. Zach Alvord led off the frame with a walk and immediately stole second base. After advancing to third on a groundout, Alvord scored on a sacrifice fly from Fields.
With two outs in the eighth inning, North Georgia plated a run on an RBI single to once again tie the contest. The runner scoring from second just beat a throw from left field to home plate.
With the score 5-5 in the top of the ninth, McGranahan put up a scoreless frame to send the Grizzlies to the plate for the winning score.
Payne led off with a double down the right field line and was replaced by Green, a pinch runner. Pinch hitter Ty Abbot singled to move Green over to third base. Long was intentionally walked to load the bases and after the Nighthawks moved a fifth infielder in defensively, Strickland lifted the first pitch he saw into right field to allow Green to score easily.
Georgia Gwinnett earned its sixth one-run win of the year, five of which have come on its home field.
The Grizzlies conclude the regular season with a three-game set at Toccoa Falls this Friday and Saturday before starting postseason play.
