The Grizzly bats came to life on day three of Lawrenceville Bracket action in the 2015 NAIA Baseball National Championships Opening Round on Thursday as the Georgia Gwinnett baseball team posted 12-3 and 10-3 victories to remain alive in its quest to reach a second consecutive Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series.
The top-seeded Grizzlies used a pair of strong outings from starting pitchers Tyler Oglesby and Alex Roberts to eliminate second-seeded Westmont (Calif.) and hand third-seeded St. Thomas (Fla.) its first defeat in the double-elimination event.
In the process, GGC (50-13) reached the 50-win plateau for the second consecutive season and has forced a decisive Game 9 on Friday at 11 a.m. against 20th-ranked St. Thomas (43-16) in Lawrenceville.
The winner will advance to the World Series May 22-29 in Lewiston, Idaho.
Outfielder Michael Hodorowski led all Grizzlies with six hits on the day and first baseman Ty Abbott remained hot at the plate with five of his own as GGC piled up 24 hits over the two victories.
Reliever Andy Threatt figured prominently in both contests, tossing a combined 4.0 scoreless innings and picking up the save in the day's second game.
Game 7- No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett 12, No. 2 Westmont 3
The Grizzlies once again allowed a first-inning score to the opposition, but this time GGC plated 12-straight runs over a six-inning span to coast to the 12-3 win and eliminate second-seeded Westmont from the Lawrenceville Bracket for the second consecutive season.
Oglesby moved to 6-2 on the year, scattering five hits over 5.0 innings, striking out three without allowing a walk.
A two-out, two-run double in the second inning by Ernesto Vazquez got the GGC offense going as the shortstop finished the game 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a pair of doubles.
William Paschal added a pair of doubles of his own, including one in a six-run seventh inning that blew a 6-1 game wide open.
Threatt relieved Oglesby to toss a scoreless sixth, then Sheldon Connor came on to pitch the final three innings, earning his first save of the season.
Abbott, Paschal, Kyler Timmerman and Jereid Woods each scored twice as the Grizzlies took advantage of three Westmont errors in the contest.
Hodorowski went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Game 8- No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett 10, No. 3 St. Thomas 3
Roberts (8-4) struck out eight batters over 6.0 innings and Threatt earned his fourth save by tossing the last three innings in scoreless fashion.
The Grizzlies yielded the game's first run once again, though this time it came in the third inning. The Grizzly bats were quick to respond, scoring three times in the fourth and four more times in the fifth to keep St. Thomas at a distance.
A Timmerman sacrifice fly gave the Grizzlies the fourth-inning lead they would never relinquish.
Hodorowski kept it going with a 3-for-4 effort with two RBIs and a run scored, while Abbott drove in a game-high three runs and scored twice in a 3-for-5 performance. The two players each had run-scoring singles in both the fourth and fifth innings, when GGC turned a 1-0 deficit into a 7-1 lead.
The Bobcats scored twice in the seventh on an RBI single and a steal home to make it 7-3, but GGC answered back with three runs in the bottom of the frame for the final 10-3 score.
Vazquez and Arsenio Watlington each doubled in the contest to combine for five doubles over the two wins on Thursday.
