MONTGOMERY, Ala. – After picking up the program's first-ever NAIA postseason victory in the afternoon on Tuesday, the No. 21 Georgia Gwinnett softball team saw its season come to an end in the nightcap as the Grizzlies fell 7-3 to 20th-ranked Davenport in the Auburn-Montgomery Bracket at the NAIA Opening Round at AUM Softball Complex.
With the loss, GGC ended its 2015 season with a 37-16 record, and Davenport improved to 42-9 and advanced to the final day of play in the Auburn-Montgomery Bracket, where the team will battle it out with the host Warhawks for a trip to the NAIA World Series.
The Grizzlies, who fell 4-0 to Davenport on Monday, began the day with a thrilling 1-0 extra-inning victory over Tennessee Wesleyan to temporarily stave off elimination. Kayla Byrom, who was making her final career start with the Green and Gray, had an outing to remember, tossing all eight innings en route to a complete game shutout.
"Kayla's been what we've needed at different points this season, and you can't ask for any more than what she gave us this week," GGC Head Coach Kat Ihlenburg said. "That's what you want to see out of any senior. She commanded the strike zone, and she's grown by leaps and bounds in her time here."
Tori Heinemann would score the game's lone run after leading off the eighth with a walk. From there, a Cassidy Littlefield single and Mary Burk walk moved her to third, and Alycia Fields followed up with a sacrifice fly to bring her home.
Byrom sat the side down in order in the ensuing half-inning to bring an end to the Bulldogs' season.
In the showdown with the Panthers, Davenport grabbed a quick lead with five runs over the first three innings, chasing both starter Katie Lange and reliever Ashley Beyke from the circle before Byrom returned to get out of the third.
GGC would respond with an Abby Hulsey sac fly and a Fields two-run single, but two more runs from Davenport effectively put the game out of reach. The two Panther scores in the fourth were the first runs surrendered by Byrom in 24 innings, and she went on to end the second game with five innings pitched, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits.
The loss brought a close to the third season of Grizzly Softball, and the Green and Gray will return to competitive action next spring.
"We certainly put our program in a better position than it was at the beginning of the season," Ihlenburg said. "I'm proud of these players for the national recognition, the heart they've displayed, and I think that this season has set a new sight on what this team can accomplish. We can now use this as an opportunity to continue to build."
###
