The No. 3 Georgia Gwinnett baseball team powered its way to a 22-0 shutout victory on Saturday to sweep the four-game series against Ohio State University Lima (1-13).
Four Grizzly pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout in the victory. Starter Will Solomon picked up his sixth win of the year, pitching three scoreless innings of work. The left-handed Columbus native surrendered just a hit while striking out five Barons. Left-hander Jake Wright threw two innings of hitless relief while Austin Smith and Chris Aichinger completed the last two innings of play.
"Today, we ended the series on a high note," stated GGC head coach Brad Stromdahl. "Collectively, we gave several of our players a chance to play and each stepped up big for us when we needed them to. The pitching staff did a great job with location, striking out batters, and getting out of jams. [Kyler] Timmerman was seeing the ball well today, and the results reflect that."
Senior Kyler Timmerman had a career day for the Grizzlies, going 4-for-4 at the plate while tying the school single-game RBIs record (7). Arsenio Watlington shares the record with Timmerman as he drove in seven runs against Blue Mountain (Miss.) on Jan. 30, 2015. Timmerman also joined Josh Merrigan, Jabari Gayle, and Jake Fields for the most doubles (3) in a single game. The Evans native's 10 total bases also tied the single game record previously held by Ty Abbott (March 20, 2015 – OSU-Lima).
As a unit, the Grizzlies tied the team's single game record with 22 RBIs. The record is shared with GGC's 22 RBI performance against Voorhees (S.C.) on Feb. 21, 2014.
Georgia Gwinnett (29-1) jumped out to a 5-0 advantage after the first inning of play. Right fielder Trey Haygood started things off for the Grizzlies, leading the game off with an infield single. Haygood would come around to score on a sacrifice fly by Merrigan. Catcher Alex Lugo drove in the second Grizzly run of the game with an RBI-single to center. Facing two outs in the inning, shortstop Marcus McCorkle extended GGC's lead to 4-0 with a two-run infield chopper. The final Grizzly crossed the plate with an RBI-double by second baseman Jabari Gayle.
The Grizzlies added seven runs in the second inning for the 12-0 advantage. Notable hits in the inning included an RBI-single by Merrigan, a two-run triple by Angel Soto, an RBI-groundout by Lugo, and a two-out, two-run double by Timmerman.
The Green and Gray continued its offensive assault in the third as a two-run double down the right-field line by Timmerman and an-RBI single by Trumon Jefferson pushed the Grizzlies' gap to 15-0.
Once again, Timmerman added to the Grizzly lead in the fifth with a solo home run over the left field fence to make it 16-0 in favor of GGC.
The sixth inning featured a plethora of pinch hitting as Stromdahl gave his pitching staff the chance to hit. Right-hander Tyler Oglesby reached on a single to left and Adam Clark reached on a five-pitch walk while closer Jeremy Hutchison lifted an RBI-single to right. Timmerman's third and final double of the day provided the Grizzlies with a 21-0 lead. The final run of the game scored on a six-pitch walk to third baseman William Paschal.
With the series sweep, the Grizzlies now lead the all-time series with OSU-Lima 16-0.
In what is likely to be the NAIA Game of the Week on Tuesday, the No. 3 Grizzlies host the top-ranked Faulkner (Ala.) Eagles for a nine inning game. First pitch from the Grizzly Baseball Complex is set for 7:00 p.m.
Game tickets 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. 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
Live Video coverage, starting 15 minutes prior to First Pitch, provided by the Grizzly Digital Network:
http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ggc/
Live stats links:
http://bit.ly/25bc6I4
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