March 14, 2015
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
LAWRENCEVILLE - The third-ranked Georgia Gwinnett baseball team wrapped up its season-opening 27-game homestand in style on Saturday afternoon, setting the single-game hits record en route to a pair of lopsided victories over fellow A.I.I. member Rochester at Grizzly Baseball Complex.
GGC, which recorded 22 hits in the day's second game, won by scores of 11-5 and 16-5 to move to 22-5 on the year, and Rochester dropped to 6-2.
"It was just another good performance for us offensively," GGC Head Coach Brad Stromdahl said. "We were putting the ball in play, and fortunately it was falling for hits. The guys in the line-up really stuck to the game plan, and we didn't need to deviate much from it. We only had four strikeouts in the second game, and that's where we want to be. It was a good day for us."
Offense was very much the story of the day as the Grizzlies pounded out 16 hits in the opening game, but despite the big numbers, the result was very much in question until a four-run seventh frame put the Green and Gray up for good.
Tyler Oglesby got the start on the mound for GGC, and he'd go on to surrender three in the second inning and one apiece in the fourth and fifth frames as he left the mound with the game tied at 5-5. However, Jeremy Holcomb would have his back, tossing a spotless final 4.1 innings and giving up just one hit to pick up his first victory this season.
GGC pushed three runs across in the opening stanza as the first three hitters of the game reached base safely, with a Ty Abbott double bringing home the day's first scores. A wild pitch later in the inning brought another across, but the advantage was short lived as three Warriors touched home in the ensuing inning to tie it up.
Abbott was the first game's biggest star, going 3-for-5 with three runs batted in and a pair of scores, and Kyler Timmerman doubled twice in a 3-for-4 showing at the plate. Michael Hodorowski also collected three hits, scoring once and knocking in another.
The Warriors were led by two-hit days from Brandon Dupuis and Trent Teeples, and starter Alex Riopelle was pegged with the loss after surrendering six runs on 12 hits in 5.1 innings of work.
An Arsenio Watlington double and Abbott single scored two more in the bottom of the frame, but the Grizzlies wouldn't score again until the sixth when Trey Haygood came into pinch run for Brian Jacobs and then scored on a stolen base and a pair of wild pitches from Warrior reliever Matt Zitny.
Abbott led off the seventh with a single and Timmerman followed up with a double to get the Grizzly offense going again, and GGC would ultimately push four across in the frame to make it 11-4 and put the game out of reach for the visitors from Michigan.
Four different Grizzlies enjoyed three-hit showings in the day's second game as 10 collected at least one hit to lead GGC to a resounding 16-5 victory.
However, it was Rochester that got out ahead early, holding onto a lead until Brady Shoppe got things going in the third with a leadoff double. Marcus McCorkle followed up with a single to score the first run of the frame, and then singles from Timmerman and William Paschal made it 4-4 heading into the fourth.
Shoppe finished the game 3-for-4 at the plate, and McCorkle was 3-for-6 with a trio of scores. Paschal and Timmerman combined to go 5-for-9 with seven RBI.
In the fourth, consecutive singles from Haygood, McKnight and Shoppe kicked off another three-run frame as the Grizzlies took their first lead of the game. It would prove an augur for what was to come as the team scored five more in the sixth and four in the seventh.
Six different pitchers saw time on the mound for GGC, but it was Andy Threatt who came out with the win, tossing three one-hit frames and striking out four to move to 4-0 on the year.
Rochester's Justin Green picked up the loss after giving up seven runs on nine hits through three-plus innings.
The Grizzlies, which completed a school-record 27-game homestand on Saturday, will hit the road on Tuesday for a game at Middle Georgia before returning back to Grizzly Baseball Complex next week for a four-game set with Ohio State Lima.
"We're looking forward to getting out on the road," Stromdahl said. "It's great to have so many home games, but I think this team needs to get out there and bond on the road and learn how to win games where we have to bat first. It's been a nice homestand for us, and now it's time to get ready for Middle Georgia on Tuesday."
NOTES: The Grizzlies carry a 70-20 all-time mark at Grizzly Baseball Complex ... GGC is 39-13 all-time in the month of March ... Arsenio Watlington continues to lead the nation in steals after picking up his 30th stolen base on Saturday, and he now trails Phillip Bates by just three for a school record season total ... Trey Haygood's seventh-inning single in the second game was the 22nd of the game, breaking the previous school record of 21, which was set against Reinhardt in 2013 ... The Grizzlies have yet to lose back-to-back games this season ... GGC is 5-1 all-time vs. schools that hail from the state of Michigan and 3-1 this year after splitting a pair with Madonna earlier this month.
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