Box Score

LAWRENCEVILLE - A five-run seventh inning proved to be the difference on Friday evening as the Georgia Gwinnett baseball team picked up an 11-6 victory over visiting Talladega at Grizzly Baseball Complex.

With the win, the sixth-ranked Grizzlies move to 3-1 on the season, and the Tornadoes, which are currently receiving votes in the Top 25 poll, drop to 1-3.

GGC has now scored double-digit runs in three of four games this season, winning all three. Contributions came from all over the line-up on Friday as seven different Grizzlies recorded a hit, led by two-hit outings from Ty Abbott, Kyler Timmerman and Arsenio Watlington. Abbott and Watlington also knocked in a pair of scores, with the former depositing a ball over the right field fence for his second home run of the season.

"We hit really well, and almost everybody who played got on base today," GGC Head Coach Brad Stromdahl said. "That's fantastic for us. We're moving the ball well, and putting it into play. It's nice for Abbott to hit that big home run, but there were guys who got on base before him to help make that a good inning for us."

Alex Roberts made his second start of the season on the mound, allowing nine hits and three runs (two earned) over five innings to improve to 2-0. He also picked up six strikeouts without allowing a walk.

However, it was an inauspicious start for the right-hander as he gave up a two-run homer to Hector Corona in the first inning. Corona finished the night 3-for-5 with a trio of runs batted in, and as a whole, the TC line-up combined for 12 hits.

The lead would prove to be short-lived as a Brian Jacobs single and a Trey Haygood sacrifice fly later in the frame cut the deficit to one. Jake Wright drew a bases-loaded walk to bring things even, but unfortunately for the Grizzlies, that would be it as Tornado pitcher Matt Holland induced a ground ball to halt the rally.

Abbott would put GGC ahead an inning later with a leadoff double before later stealing third and scoring on a Jacobs ground ball.

After an error cost the Grizzlies a score in the top of the fourth, Abbott once again played a role in a two-out rally in the bottom half of the frame. Wright drew his second walk of the game to get things started, and a wild pitch was followed by a Michael Hodorowski single to put the Green and Gray ahead. Abbott pounced on a 1-0 pitch in the ensuing at-bat to put the visitors from Alabama in a 6-3 hole heading into the fifth.

Nine Grizzlies made a trip to the plate in the seventh as a pair of errors and two GGC hits came back to haunt the Tornadoes. A Kyler Timmerman single brought the first run across, and an error allowed the second. Watlington singled home two more runs, and a Jereid Woods sacrifice fly rounded out the frame for the Green and Gray.

"We gave up that home run early, but we did a good job bouncing back," Stromdahl said. "The guys went back out there and stuck to the game plan at the plate, and then Roberts did a great job after that first inning to pitch us through the fifth. We still have a lot to work on, but it was a good day."

GGC would use four relief pitchers over the game's final four frames, highlighted by an impressive outing from Ryan Minteer, who struck out four over 2.1 innings of work. Jovanni Cruz, Davis Adkins and Casey Collins combined for the final five outs, surrendering three runs.

The Grizzlies will return to action on Saturday as they seek a second consecutive series victory to start the season. The first game at Grizzly Baseball Complex is slated to begin at 1 p.m. with the second following approximately 30 minutes after the completion of the first.

NOTES: GGC has never lost a three- or four-game series played at Grizzly Baseball Complex ... Alex Roberts moved to second all-time in strikeouts with 100 for his career ... Former Grizzly Tyler Carpenter owns the school record with 169 ... Roberts now has 11 wins for his career, moving into a tie for second on the all-time list ... The Grizzlies carry a 52-16 all-time mark at Grizzly Baseball Complex ... Arsenio Watlington has 10 hits through four games this year, good enough for a team-best .526 average ... Jake Wright had two more walks on Friday, bringing his four-game total to eight and giving him a .667 on-base percentage ... He also leads the team will 11 RBI ... Paschal is second on the team in walks with seven ... GGC is now 1-3 all-time vs. the state of Alabama, losing all three meetings with Faulkner ... The Grizzlies have a 23-6 all-time record in the month of February ... Talladega is just the second GCAC member that the Grizzlies have ever played ... Previously, GGC played eight games against Voorhees (S.C.), and each game was shortened as the Green and Gray out-scored the Panthers 118-17 ... The Grizzlies will play another GCAC opponent, Tougaloo (Miss.), later this season.

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