After grabbing two victories over No. 11 Keiser (Fla.) on Friday night, the No. 3 Georgia Gwinnett baseball team picked up the sweep on Saturday, winning the final two games of its four-game set.
Just like Friday's game one of doubleheader action, the Grizzlies captured a 2-1 walk-off victory over the Seahawks and then wrapped up the series sweep winning the twin bill's night cap 5-2.
"It's great to finish the week with a 5-0 record against two quality opponents," stated GGC head coach Brad Stromdahl. "Our pitchers are commanding the ball well and, once again, timely hitting was the difference between the win and loss."
The Grizzlies (34-1) rode the dominant pitching performances of starters Davis Adkins and Tyler Ogelsby and received great relief performances from Tyler Souris and Jeremy Hutchison down the stretch.
Josh Merrigan led the Grizzlies at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs, two runs scored, two steals, and a walk-off hit in game one to give Georgia Gwinnett the 2-1 win.
In game one, Adkins went the distance for the Grizzlies, pitching a complete game. The Cordele native struck out five batters, surrendering just one run on five hits. Adkins, who leads the Grizzlies with 60 strikeouts, is now 8-0 on the season with a 1.99 ERA.
Keiser (24-10) struck first in game one, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Right fielder Gabby Mundo led the inning off with a triple and then came around to score the lone Seahawk run of the game on a single by designated hitter Keivan Berges.
In the bottom of the frame, the Grizzlies tied the game at 1-1 on a squeeze bunt down the third base line by left fielder Michael Hodorowski. GGC had runners on the corners as Hodorowski laid the bunt gently down the line at third and legged out the play at first, allowing first baseman Zac Rinehart to score the tying run. Earlier in the inning, Rinehart reached on a single, stole second, and then moved to third on a single by designated hitter Marcus McCorkle.
Still tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh, the Grizzlies faced the final three outs of regulation in the designated seven-inning game. Back-to-back singles by Hodorowski and right fielder Kyler Timmerman put the winning runs on base with no outs in the inning. Coach Stromdahl sent Trumon Jefferson to third to pinch run for Hodorowski. The Grizzlies loaded the bases when shortstop Trevor Bradley walked, sending Merrigan to the plate as a pinch hitter for catcher Alex Lugo.
Facing a 2-0 count, Merrigan smashed a hard bouncing chopper toward the hole at second, allowing Jefferson to score from third for the 2-1 walk-off win.
Merrigan's heroics continued in game two as the slugger went 3-for-4 in the night cap. The Grizzlies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning of play. Merrigan ripped an RBI-single to right center for the 1-0 lead while Rinehart provided the 3-0 advantage with a two-run single to deep right.
GGC plated its fourth run of the game in the third on a chopper to the first base side of the mound hit by McCorkle.
Keiser battled back to score two runs in the sixth, but the Grizzlies added an insurance run in the seventh with an RBI-single by Merrigan to secure the 5-2 win.
Oglesby, who was the GGC starting pitcher in game two, picked up his sixth win of the year, striking out three batters while allowing two runs on four hits in his five innings of work. Souris provided three innings of scoreless, two-hit relief while Hutchison picked up the save, striking out the final three batters of the contest.
The Grizzlies are back in action on Tuesday when they travel just up the road to face in-state rival Reinhardt (Ga.) for a nine-inning contest. First pitch from Waleska is set for 6:00 p.m.
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