After weather conditions moved Friday's opening contest of its three-game series to a doubleheader on Saturday, the No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett baseball team swept Texas A&M-Texarkana on Saturday, scoring a total of 26 runs in two games.
Georgia Gwinnett (37-1) pulled out a 6-4 victory in game one while the Grizzlies capped off the twin bill with a 20-4 win in game two.
Center fielder Josh Merrigan had a career day for the Grizzlies going 5-for-5 in game one and 1-for-2 in game two. The Marietta native's five hits in game one broke the GGC record for hits in a single game previously set at four by 10 other Grizzlies. The first record of four hits in a single game was set by Kyle Norton (vs. St. Francis (Ind.) on March 8, 2014) and was last achieved by Marcus McCorkle on March 19, 2015, against Ohio State-Lima. In game one, Merrigan scored on three occasions and drove in a run.
The Grizzlies opened game one with a 2-0 lead in first inning of play. Back-to-back singles by second baseman Jereid Woods and Merrigan, coupled with a walk to third baseman William Paschal, loaded the bases for GGC with two outs in the inning. On a 1-1 count, McCorkle gave the Grizzlies the 2-0 advantage with a clutch two-run single to right field.
GGC pushed its lead to 3-0 in the third on a Texarkana error. The Eagles (22-11) cut GGC's lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Austin Coleman that scored Croix Sedillo. Earlier in the inning, Sedillo reached on a triple to the right-center field fence.
In the sixth, the Grizzlies regained their three-run lead, 4-1, on a wild pitch by TAMUT starter Neiko Yribe, scoring first baseman Zac Rinehart from third. Previously, Rinehart led off the inning with a double down the left field line and advanced 90 feet from the plate on a fly ball hit to deep center by Paschal.
TAMUT and GGC both traded runs in the eighth inning that finished with the Grizzlies still leading 5-2. An RBI-ground ball by McCorkle plated GGC's fifth run of the game while TAMUT's Cade Davis delivered an RBI-single for the second Eagle run of the game.
Looking to close out the opening contest of the three-game set, the Grizzlies pushed a sixth and final insurance run across the plate in the top of the ninth to push their gap to 6-2. Merrigan's lone RBI of game one came on his fifth hit of the game as he lifted an RBI-single to right, scoring right fielder Brady Hamilton.
The Eagles, who were faced with their final three outs of game one, attempted a last-inning rally as they scored two runs to narrow the final score to 6-4 in favor of No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett.
GGC's starter Davis Adkins (9-0) picked up his ninth win of the season, striking out seven batters while surrendering just three runs on seven hits in his 8.1 innings of work. TAMUT's Yribe suffered the loss, allowing three runs on eight hits in seven innings of work.
In game two, the Grizzlies collected 20 runs on 16 hits, defeating the Eagles 20-4. Each team traded a run in the first inning before Georgia Gwinnett gained a 4-1 advantage in the second. With the bases loaded, Merrigan ripped a bases-clearing, three-run double to the gap in left center.
The Grizzlies' offensive tear continued in the top of the fourth as they drove in seven runs on five hits and a TAMUT error. Woods, Rinehart, and Michael Hodorowski all recorded RBI-singles in the inning while a clutch two-out, two-run triple by shortstop Trevor Bradley pushed the GGC lead to 11-1.
TAMU-Texarkana bounced back in the bottom of the fourth to score two runs, cutting the GGC advantage to 11-3, on a two-run single by pinch hitter Kolton Perfect.
As if a reflection of the first inning, GGC and TAMUT once again traded runs as the score set at 12-4 after five innings of action. Georgia Gwinnett went on to score eight more runs, four in both the seventh and eighth, as Georgia Gwinnett defeated the Eagles 20-4, picking up its 37th win of 2016.
Hodorowski went 3-for-4 in game two, leading the Grizzlies with four RBIs and two runs scored.
GGC's Tyler Oglesby (7-1) recorded the win in game two, allowing four runs on four hits while striking out six of the 19 batters he faced. Matt Muench and Ryan Turner finished the contest for the Grizzlies as Muench pitched three innings of shutout relief while Turner closed out the contest with a scoreless ninth. TAMUT's starter Jason Jones received the loss as the hurler surrendered 10 earned runs on 10 hits in 3.2 innings of work.
The Grizzlies are back in action on Sunday when they conclude their three-game set with TAMUT. First pitch Sunday is set for 2:00 p.m. Eastern.
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