Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ga. - After falling 4-1 to Lindenwood-Belleville in the day's opening game, the Georgia Gwinnett softball team bounced back with a 5-3 victory over Friends in the semifinals of the Copper Bracket in the afternoon to wrap up the second day of play at the NFCA Leadoff Classic at South Commons Softball Complex.

The split marked the second straight for the Grizzlies as they wrapped up pool play with a 1-2 record, ultimately getting assigned the No. 1 seed in the Copper Bracket, where they were matched up with fourth-seeded Friends, which fell in all three of its group games.

GGC's group was won by No. 24 USC Beaufort, which the Green and Gray held to just one hit in a 3-0 victory on Friday evening.

In the day's first game, LUB grabbed an early lead with a run in the first inning, but an Abby Hulsey second-inning home run evened it back up. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, the team would collect just one more hit in the game as the Lady Lynx pushed three runs across in the bottom of the second and never looked back.

Kayla Byrom was hooked with the loss in the affair, dropping her to 2-2 on the year, and LUB's Taylor Winn went the distance, finishing with just one earned run to go along with seven strikeouts.

The Grizzlies collected eight hits in the day's second game, but once again they were forced to come from behind as Friends began the game with two runs off of starter Katie Lange.

Cassidy Littlefield was able to cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the opening stanza, picking up a bunt single, and then stealing both second and third, which allowed her to score on a Mary Burk sacrifice fly.

Friends would push another score across in the second, and Byrom took over in the circle at the start of the fourth and assumed control of the game, allowing just two hits over the final four frames to pick up her third win of the year.

GGC cut the lead back to one in the third as Tori Heinemann cashed in on a Jordyn Fones leadoff double to make it 3-2. The Grizzlies finally tied it up three innings later as Haley Thompson led off the sixth with a solo shot.

Both Hulsey and Chelsi Palazzo helped the Green and Gray push ahead by taking advantage of Friends miscues as the former was hit by a pitch and the latter reached on an errant throw. A Logan Davis wild pitch allowed the Hulsey to touch home, and Alycia Fields followed up with an RBI single to make it 5-3.

GGC will close out the NFCA Leadoff Classic against No. 21 Oklahoma Baptist at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

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