After the first day of the Green and Gray Invitational concluded Saturday, the No. 21 Georgia Gwinnett softball team sits at 12-4 on the season after splitting its contests against Rio Grande (Ohio) and Thomas (Ga.).
The Grizzlies started their day with a 6-0 shutout victory over Rio Grande, but fell in the nightcap, 2-0, against Thomas.
"Chelsi Palazzo had a commanding performance in game one, and the offense supported her well with good run support," reflected GGC head coach Kat Ihlenberg. "Her strikeout number was great, and I'm really proud of her for coming out and having a strong game."
Palazzo carried the load for the Grizzlies in the opening game of the Green and Gray Invitational, throwing a complete-game, two-hit shutout against the Red Storm. The junior carried a perfect game and no-hitter into the fourth inning before having them broken up by walk by Brittany Walk and a single to center by Ariel Roder. Palazzo collected a season-high nine strikeouts in the victory.
At the plate, Georgia Gwinnett took the early 2-0 lead in the first inning of play off a two-run home run by second baseman Haley Thompson. Two innings later, the Grizzlies pushed their third run across the plate on a sacrifice fly by catcher Alycia Fields. Notably, left fielder Alyssa Hathcoat led the inning off with a triple. Her hit in the third inning marked the third consecutive game where Hathcoat has recorded a triple.
Georgia Gwinnett sealed its victory over Rio Grande with a three-run fourth to pick up the 12th win of 2016. Palazzo improved to 2-0 on the year while the Red Storm's Mallory Powell received the loss.
In game two, the Grizzlies had several opportunities throughout the contest to score, but could not do so. While GGC was limited to three hits against Thomas, the Grizzlies loaded the bases once in the first and had another opportunity late to tie the game, but overall left six runners on base in the loss. Thomas' Ashley Chapman picked up the 2-0 shutout victory while GGC's Katie Jo Goodwin (2-1) received her first loss of the season.
Ihlenburg continued, "Not executing in the first two innings of game two really hurt us. It seems to really change the momentum of the game, and hopefully we come out and respond better tomorrow."
All three teams are back in action on Sunday as they will once again face off in round-robin style contests. Rio Grande will start things off against Thomas at 11:00 a.m. and then play GGC at 1:30 p.m. The final game of the Invitational will feature Thomas and the 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 stats links:
Feb. 28 – 11:00AM: Thomas vs. Rio: http://bit.ly/1Q6hB0C
Feb. 28 – 1:30PM: Rio vs. GGC: http://bit.ly/1oDEYIr
Feb. 28 – 4:00PM: Thomas vs. GGC: http://bit.ly/1RiRnuz
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