Georgia Gwinnett's eighth-ranked baseball team continued its historic start to the 2016 season as the Grizzlies swept Friday's doubleheader against Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.), winning 3-2 and 18-4 over the Lynx.
The Grizzlies' victories were guided by quality pitching by Nikolay Uherek and Tyler Oglesby and timely hitting by first baseman Brady Hamilton. Uherek carried the load for the Grizzlies in game one, pitching 7.2 innings of work, allowing just two runs on six hits while striking out nine. In the nightcap, Oglesby went five innings, giving up two runs on five hits while striking out five.
"Today was a great test from a very talented ball club," stated GGC head coach Brad Stromdahl. "Lindenwood's starter in game one kept us off-balanced and really tested us at the plate. I thought Nikolay threw a great game for us and kept us in the mix."
At the plate, Hamilton had a career day for the Grizzlies, going 4-for-4. The Columbus native had two singles, a double, a steal, and scored four times, all while driving in four runs.
Stromdahl continued, "We were fortunate to have better balls to hit in the second game. Hamilton really carried the load tonight and had an opportunity to capitalize each at bat by having guys on the base paths every time he came to the plate. He didn't over-think the moment and just tried every way possible to put the ball in play, and the result speaks for itself."
In game one, the Grizzlies did all their damage in the sixth and seventh inning. Designated hitter Zac Rinehart put GGC up 1-0 with a two-out RBI-single in the sixth while the Grizzlies scored their second and third runs of the game on a double steal and wild throw in the seventh. Lindenwood-Belleville (2-9) battled back in the top of the eighth to cut the lead to 3-2, but could not overcome GGC's early advantage as reliever Davis Adkins picked up the save. Uherek improved to 3-0 on the year with the win while LU-Belleville's Michael Sabatino was credited with the loss.
The night cap was an offensive outburst for the Grizzlies as GGC scored early and often. Along with Hamilton's performance, both Marcus McCorkle and Jereid Woods went 2-for-2 for the day, contributing two RBIs and four runs scored. Georgia Gwinnett collected 18 runs on 18 hits as Oglesby picked up his third win of the year on the mound.
First pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.
Tickets for Saturday's doubleheader 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 stats links:
Game 1: http://bit.ly/1TxGVkU
Game 2: http://bit.ly/1PX9HsC
For all the latest on Grizzly Athletics, including news, scores and features, visit GrizzlyAthletics.com. Check out all the latest Grizzly Baseball content and join the conversation by using #GGCBaseball on Twitter.
