April 12, 2015
Brad Stromdahl said. "Today, we threw the ball well and had the combined shutout, and then the hitters did what they were supposed to do. It was a great day all around."
With the win, GGC secured yet another home series victory and improved to 37-8 on the year. The Grizzles have never lost a three- or four-game series in Lawrenceville.
The Golden Bears dropped to 22-18.
Joseph Boatright got the start on the mound for the Green and Gray, and he turned in one of his better performances of the season, striking out six over the game's first four innings to earn his first career victory. The Augusta native surrendered just two hits in his second-ever start and 13th overall appearance.
Austin Smith, Jovanni Cruz, Sheldon Connor and Ryan Turner combined to give up four hits over the final five frames as the GGC pitching staff earned its third shutout of the season.
At the plate, 12 Grizzlies registered at least one hit, but it was the duo of Ty Abbott and William Paschal that stood out the most as both enjoyed three-hit outings. Paschal, a junior out of Norcross, finished 3-for-3 with a pair of walks, and Abbott belted his team-best eighth home run of the season on the way to finishing 3-for-5 with three runs batted in.
Arsenio Watlington got it going early for GGC as he led off the first with a single before Abbott picked up his second first-inning homer in as many days just a few minutes later. Kyler Timmerman followed up with a single and ultimately moved to third on a stolen base before Brady Shoppe, the hero of Saturday's walk-off victory, recorded a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
Watlington finished the day 2-for-3, and Timmerman was 2-for-4 with three runs scored. The pair combined to account for four of GGC's seven stolen bases in the contest.
A Marcus McCorkle triple and an Abbott single added two more runs to the GGC ledger an inning later, and a three-run fourth frame removed all doubt to the game's outcome.
GGC went on to add three more runs in the sixth before Jamie McKnight doubled home another in the seventh to account for the game's final score.
The Grizzlies will return to action on Tuesday as they will play host to top-ranked Faulkner at Grizzly Baseball Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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