MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Timely hitting proved to be Georgia Gwinnett's undoing on Monday as the Grizzlies dropped a 4-0 decision to Davenport in the first game of the Auburn-Montgomery Bracket in the NAIA Softball Opening Round.
The 21st-ranked Grizzlies (36-15) will now face an elimination game on Tuesday against either host Auburn-Montgomery or fourth-seeded Tennessee Wesleyan. Davenport (41-8), which owns a No. 20 national ranking, is now a win away from advancing to the bracket championship game.
The Green and Gray were able to put runners on base in six of the seven innings on Monday, but the effort ultimately proved fruitless each time as GGC ended with six hits and nine runners left on base. By comparison, Davenport, which picked up six hits as well, stranded just four.
"We didn't execute the way that we needed today," GGC Head Coach Kat Ihlenburg said. "We have to rekindle that fire from last week to really stay in this and try to get into the next round."
Abby Hulsey collected half of GGC's hits in the game, ending 3-for-4, and Alycia Fields was 2-for-3. They were the only players from either team to finish with multiple hits in the contest.
Ashley Beyke made the start in the circle for GGC and surrendered all six hits and four runs over the game's opening 4.1 frames before Kayla Byrom came on in relief and collected the final five outs.
"Kayla has been a strong relief pitcher for us all season," Ihlenburg said. "I'm certainly proud that she can come into a situation like that and performed well. She kept us in the ball game and gave our offense a fighting chance."
Davenport's Emily Maves tossed a complete game shutout, allowing six hits and five walks with eight strikeouts. With the win, she set a school record as it marked her 25th of the season.
After the Grizzlies stranded a pair in scoring position in the top of the second, the Panthers broke through in the bottom of the frame with an Ashleigh Blovsky single to right, and Carli Sanmillan would follow up with a double to make it 2-0 before Beyke picked up a pair of quick outs to work out of the jam.
A successful squeeze play from KC Dunne and a run-scoring groundout by Paige Sant'Angelo brought home two more in the fifth to double the advantage for the Michigan-based school.
The Grizzlies' best chance to score followed in the sixth as Hulsey and Fields led off with back-to-back singles, but Maves brought an end to the attempted rally by inducing three consecutive flyouts keep GGC off the board.
GGC will return to the campus of AUM on Tuesday afternoon to play the first of a possible two elimination games. The first pitch in the first one is slated for 4:30 Eastern, and with a win, GGC would turn around to play another at 7 p.m.
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