Final Stats

UPDATE: Baseball's trip to Cumberland has been canceled due to expected inclement weather.

LAWRENCEVILLE - Just one day after earning his first career A.I.I. Athlete of the Week award, Kyler Timmerman dropped a two-out single into shallow right field in the bottom of the eighth to push the Georgia Gwinnett baseball team past visiting Reinhardt in 5-2 fashion at Grizzly Baseball Complex.

"We needed to win a game like this," GGC Head Coach Brad Stromdahl said. "We needed to be in a situation where it's close and competitive throughout. Our pitchers were able to put strikes in the zone, and then we had some big hits too. We did what we needed to do. We played small ball, bunted when we needed to bunt, moved runners and put the ball in play. We did the little things right today, and that's why we won against a very good team."

With the win, GGC moved to 12-3 on the year, and RU dropped to 6-5.

Timmerman, a sophomore out of Evans, came to the plate just moments after the Eagles issued an intentional walk to Ty Abbott, loading the bases with the score tied at 2-2. The bloop single seemed to find space between three RU players, scoring the first two runs and an errant throw allowed a third to cross to make it 5-2.

"It was off the end of the bat, but it was above the lights, so I knew it was going to be a tricky play for them," Abbott said of Timmerman's game-winning hit. "I just tried to get to third as quickly as possible, and it ended up working out well with the throw, so I scored too. When I saw it land, I was very happy."

Abbott, who was celebrating his 23rd birthday on Tuesday, enjoyed an outing to remember, going 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, and Timmerman was the only other Grizzly to log multiple hits as the team out-hit the visitors 7-3.

"I couldn't really ask for a better present than helping my team win a close ball game," Abbott said. "I'm really happy that we were able to come out here as a team and be ready to go. They're from right down the road, so it's a good rivalry game. We didn't lay down, and we weren't too relaxed. We were ready to play today."

Jeremy Holcomb led the way in what was an impressive pitching display for the Green and Gray, and the senior southpaw out of Griffin didn't surrender a run until the sixth inning, allowing all three hits and striking out four. Andy Threatt proved even more effective, coming in and tossing 2.2 innings of hitless relief, fanning three and allowing just one walk.

"Holcomb did a great job of doing what our team needed him to do today, which was get us into the sixth," Stromdahl said. "It's the kind of performance that I expect out of him, and Threatt was phenomenal too. He competed hard, and he's a big reason why we won this game."

Christian Turnipseed recorded the final three outs, two via strikeout, to pick up his second save of the season.

GGC touched home first in the ball game as Abbott and Timmerman laced back-to-back two-out singles in the opening stanza, and Holcomb proved unhittable over the ensuing frames before Jacob Cagle dropped a single into left center in the fifth. The sixth would prove more problematic as Justin Schlie and Bobby Gozzola led off with a walk and a double to tie up the proceedings. A Luke Daniel single moments later gave the visitors from Waleska the lead, and chased Holcomb from the mound.

Threatt immediately picked off Daniel before striking out Hankins to quell the threat.

"Every time that I come in, it's usually with runners on base," Threatt said. "So I have to come in with a mindset of getting the next batter and trying to eliminate bad pitches, walks or something that might hurt us. I just wanted to try and bridge the gap and get us to Turnipseed, who is almost automatic. Tough games like this build character and I think winning like that is good for the whole team overall."

In the bottom of the frame, Arsenio Watlington was hit by a pitch, and then he showed off his ability on the base paths, stealing his nation-leading 18th base of the season before moving to third on a passed ball. Abbott brought him home with a single down the left field line, narrowly avoiding a diving Schlie's glove.

The Eagles attempted to answer in the eighth as Threatt, who had thrown just two balls over the preceding five outs, issued a lead-off walk to Eli Dickens. He was judged to have balked on his pick-off move, putting the go ahead runner in scoring position. However, Threatt buckled down, inducing a fly out and a pair of ground balls to keep things level and set the stage for Timmerman's heroics.

The Grizzlies will return to action on Wednesday with a trip to No. 1 Cumberland. The game, which was previously scheduled to be held in Lawrenceville, was moved to Lebanon, Tenn., due to expected inclement weather. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.

NOTES: GGC is 60-18 all-time in home games ... Wednesday marks the third straight year that GGC has played the nation's top-ranked baseball team, falling in previous encounters with Faulkner in 2014 and Tennessee Wesleyan in 2013 ... The Grizzlies are 3-1 vs. Cumberland, sweeping a pair of games in 2014 and splitting a pair in 2013 ... GGC is 5-1 this season vs. teams that are currently receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 poll ... The Grizzlies have a 32-8 all-time record in the month of February ... GGC is now 25-24 all-time vs. the state of Georgia and 13-6 vs. opponents from Tennessee.

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