Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score

LAWRENCEVILLE - After battling to a tight 3-2 victory in Friday afternoon's first game vs. Montreat, the Georgia Gwinnett softball team left little to chance in the second, pounding out 15 hits en route to a run-rule-shortened 10-2 victory as the Green and Gray made a triumphant return to Grizzly Softball Complex.

The Grizzlies, which are now 22-12 on the season, snapped a three-game skid and improved their record in Lawrenceville to an impressive 14-0.

"We enjoy defending the fortress," GGC Head Coach Kat Ihlenburg said. "The team plays loose at home, and it's great for me to watch. We made a lot of good contact in the first game, but we were hitting it right at people. We were able to find the gaps a little better in the second game, and we also displayed a lot of timely hitting. That was nice to see."

Montreat dropped to 6-31.

Ashley Beyke starred in the day's opener, as the junior pitcher picked up her eighth victory in 12 decisions this year. The Franklin, Tenn., product tossed a complete game and allowed just two unearned runs on six hits.

"Ashley's performance in game one is indicative of her career as a Grizzly," Ihlenburg said. "She's kept us in almost every game that she's ever pitched. I've rarely witnessed her have a bad outing, and today was another example of that. She was able to fight through some errors behind her and kept getting those ground ball outs."

At the plate, Chelsi Palazzo and Alycia Fields collected five of GGC's seven hits, with the former enjoying a 3-for-3 performance and the latter ending 2-for-4.

All three Grizzly scores came in the game's opening stanza. Cassidy Littlefield, as is often the case, got things started for GGC, earning leadoff walk and then stealing second to move into scoring position. An Abby Hulsey double ultimately brought her home. Fields kept the rally going with a single to right, and a pair of Cavalier errors allowed her to go all the way around the bases, touching home to make it 3-0.

From there on out, Beyke's counterpart, Amber Smith, would prove effective for Montreat, tossing a scoreless final five frames.

It was a Grizzly miscue that allowed the Cavaliers to score in the third as a single and a Palazzo error put two on with no outs. Beyke induced three straight groundouts to end the frame, but not before Caitlyn Parker was pushed across, cutting the deficit to two.

Palazzo atoned for her earlier mistake two innings later as she turned an unassisted double play at third base to pick up the first two outs of the fifth. The play would prove especially important as the ensuing hitter laced a single to left, scoring only one run instead of two. Beyke picked it up from there, giving up just one hit over the final 2.1 frames.

It was Mary Burk's turn to go 3-for-3 in game two, and both Haley Thompson and Palazzo enjoyed two-hit outings with three runs batted in to lock up the seventh consecutive doubleheader sweep at Grizzly Softball Complex this season.

Littlefield and Burk got it started with back-to-back singles in the bottom of the first to bring home the game's opening tally. An Ashleigh Simmons two-run, two-out double later in the frame made it 3-0 after one for the second time on the day.

The two-out hit was only a harbinger for what was to come as the Grizzlies would score seven more two-out runs over the course of the afternoon.

In the second, Thompson cashed in two more runs with a triple and back-to-back doubles from Jordyn Fones and Palazzo made it 7-0.

After the Cavaliers reclaimed a score in the third, the Grizzlies responded in the bottom half of the frame as Thompson earned a bases loaded walk to re-establish the seven-run cushion, and Palazzo added to it with a two-run single.

A Montreat consolation run in the top of the fifth accounted for the game's final score as Kayla Byrom earned a complete game victory to improve to 7-3 on the year.

GGC will return to action on Saturday vs. Talladega for the team's annual Senior Day celebration. First pitch for game one is set for 1 p.m., and a special ceremony honoring the program's five seniors will begin at 12:40.

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