The No. 21 Georgia Gwinnett softball team picked up two key victories Saturday over WVU Institute of Technology (W.Va.) and Brenau (Ga.) to open the Grizzly Softball Classic.
The Grizzly squad, which now sits at 8-2 on the year, outpaced the Golden Bears of WVU Tech in the first game of Saturday's round-robin action with a 9-4 victory. Later in the afternoon, the Grizzlies picked up a 1-0 victory over Brenau as senior pitcher Ashley Beyke allowed just seven hits in the complete-game shutout.
"Today showed a lot about our team," stated GGC head coach Kat Ihlenburg. "We had to fight to win both games. Our will to win was tremendous, and the role each Grizzly played was very important to our two wins. Our defense proved to be very strong today and that gave us the edge in game two."
Game one against the Golden Bears featured a come-from-behind victory by the Grizzlies in the 9-4 win. WVU Tech caused some damage at the plate to the tune of four runs in the top of the second. Katie Lange came on in relief for GGC, pitching 5.1 innings of shutout work to carry the Grizzlies the rest of the game. The right-handed hurler recorded six strikeouts in the win while surrendering just two hits and no walks.
The Grizzlies chopped the deficit to 4-3 after the third and then took over offensively in the bottom of the fifth. While the Grizzlies tied the game at 4-4 when Elyssa Melton was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, it was a two-out, pinch-hit, bases-clearing triple to the right field fence by Kodi Ricketson that lifted the Grizzlies to the 9-4 victory.
The night cap against Brenau featured a true pitchers' duel. Beyke went the distance for the Grizzlies, pitching seven shutout innings. Georgia Gwinnett plated the only run of the game in the bottom of the fourth on a slap shot single up the middle by second baseman Haley Thompson.
Brenau (5-1) and WVU Tech (0-2) squared off in the second game of the afternoon, which saw the Golden Tigers of Brenau defeat WVU Tech in a 13-8 slugfest.
All three teams will face each other again on Sunday. WVU Tech will start things off against Brenau at 11:00 a.m. and then play GGC at 1:30 p.m. The final game of the Classic will feature Brenau and host GGC at 4:00 p.m.
Tickets for Sunday's action are $5 for adults, $3 for youth, seniors, and military, and free for children under five. All members of the GGC community receive free admission with their Claw Card. Season ticket packages are also on sale for all regular season contests. For more information on ticketing, click here. Free game day parking is available in the deck at the entrance to the GGC campus.
Game Day Central
Video coverage:
http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ggc/
Live stat links:
Feb. 21: WVU Tech vs. Brenau: http://bit.ly/1Ub9rta
Feb. 21: GGC vs. WVU Tech: http://bit.ly/1PPC4qx
Feb. 21: GGC vs. Brenau: http://bit.ly/1SRrzch
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