Box Score

LAWRENCEVILLE - Things just didn't seem to be in the cards for the Georgia Gwinnett baseball team on Sunday as the team entered the bottom of the eighth trailing visiting Berea by three runs having already stranded 10 runners on base. However, that would all change as the sixth-ranked Grizzlies finally cashed in with four runs to grab a 9-8 victory over the Mountaineers at Grizzly Baseball Complex.

"Honestly, we do a really good job at thinking that we're never going to be out of any game," senior outfielder Ty Abbott said of the team's mindset. "We knew that we were still hitting well, and we knew that even though it wasn't happening for us for a while, eventually we'd get a couple breaks and good things would happen after that."

The win is the seventh in a row for the Green and Gray, which has now won 12 of its last 13 games to move to 15-3 on the season. The lone loss in that stretch came at the hands of Truett-McConnell, and due to inclement weather, GGC will get a try at revenge a day early. The game, which was previously scheduled for Tuesday in Cleveland, will now be played Monday at 7 p.m. in Lawrenceville.

The decisive rally in the eighth began innocently enough as Arsenio Watlington led off the frame with a walk, but a Ryan Blevens fielding error proved to be a big momentum swing as it put runners on the corners for Abbott, who followed up with a double to left. Jamie McKnight picked up a walk in the ensuing at bat, and William Paschal brought the Grizzlies within one with a single through the left side to chase Berea pitcher Chris Works from the mound.

Michael Smither, who came on in relief, tossed a wild pitch just moments later as Abbott beat the tag at the plate to tie it up, and a Jereid Woods sacrifice fly made it 9-8. GGC would then hand the game to closer Christian Turnipseed, who set the Mountaineers down in order to earn his third save of the season.

Paschal led the offense on the day, going 2-for-2 with three walks and a pair of runs batted in, and Abbott was 1-for-4 with two RBI as well. Haygood was the other standout in the line-up, finishing with a pair of hits and three scores.

While the offense ultimately delivered in the end, it was the work of relief pitcher Davis Adkins that got them there as the junior enjoyed a career outing on the mound, taking over for starter Sheldon Connor and tossing 4.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts. The Cordele native left the mound in the eighth having retired 13 consecutive hitters to earn the first victory of his Grizzly career.

"It took me a little bit to kind of settle in this season, and I think I'm starting to feel more comfortable," Adkins said. "I tried to come in and limit the damage in the fourth, and then I was locating my fastball and curveball today and my slider was breaking well."

After errors resulted in a run apiece in the day's opening inning, the Grizzlies grabbed the lead in the third on a McKnight double and they further added to the advantage with a Paschal single soon thereafter to make it 3-1. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, that lead would fall apart in the following inning as the Mountaineers belted out seven consecutive two-out singles to on the way to scoring seven runs in the frame to take a commanding 8-3 lead.

Berea's Lance Shelton, while surrendering six walks in the game, refused to break, holding the GGC bats at bay until they finally broke through for a score on a Brian Jacobs single in the sixth. However, Works came on in relief was able to delay the Grizzly rally for two more innings, inducing a groundball to get out of a bases loaded jam to end the threat.

He would not be as fortunate in the eighth as he was pegged with his first loss of the season, ending with five runs allowed (four earned) on three hits and four walks.

NOTES: GGC is 63-18 all-time in home games ... The Grizzlies have a 32-11 all-time record in the month of March ... GGC has never lost a three- or four-game home series ... This weekend marked the first-ever series for the Grizzlies vs. a school from the state of Kentucky ... Monday's game vs. Truett-McConnell will be the fourth meeting in the last two years between the two schools, with GGC winning both times last season and falling 4-3 on Feb. 17 ... GGC is 25-24 all-time vs. Georgia schools.

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