Saturday afternoon at the Grizzly Baseball Complex was filled with celebration, a festive atmosphere, and cherished memories of seasons past as the No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett baseball team defeated No. 5 USC-Beaufort in doubleheader action, concluding Senior Day festivities with a series sweep over the Sand Sharks.
The Grizzlies (47-4) captured the 12-4 win in game one and wrapped up the series sweep with a 2-0 shutout victory in game two.
Prior to Saturday's games, the Grizzlies honored the collegiate careers of their 18 seniors during a pregame ceremony.
The 2016 senior class included, in jersey number order, William Paschal, Trey Haygood, Tyler Oglesby, Adam Clark, Matt Muench, Austin Smith, Trumon Jefferson, Davis Adkins, Michael Hodorowski, Jake Wright, Jereid Woods, Chris Aichinger, Zac Rinehart, Josh Merrigan, Will Solomon, Jeremy Hutchison, Ryan Turner, and Sheldon Connor.
"Today was a great day for GGC baseball as we honored our seniors," stated GGC head coach Brad Stromdahl. "Picking up two wins and the series sweep against a good USCB team is a great accomplishment that shows all the hard work that each of these guys are putting into the game. I appreciate all the family, friends, and fans who came out to recognize our seniors today and we thank them for their continued support."
In game one, USCB (37-9) jumped on the board first in the opening inning of play to take a 1-0 lead with an RBI-single to center by Brandon Joyce. An inning later, the Grizzlies responded with a three-run second to take their first lead of the day. A two-run triple off the right-center field wall by Trevor Bradley gave the Grizzlies the 2-1 advantage while Hodorowski's 100th career hit to left scored the third Grizzly run of the game.
Both offensives remained quiet on the board until the bottom of the seventh when GGC increased its lead to 4-1 with a sacrifice fly to right by Woods.
During the bottom of the eighth, the Georgia Gwinnett offense opened the flood gates, sending 14 hitters to plate to score eight insurance runs for the 12-1 advantage. The slugfest included RBI-singles by Bradley, Woods, Rinehart, and Paschal with a balk and two bases-loaded walks, totaling eight Grizzly runs.
The Sand Sharks managed to score three runs in the top of the ninth, but fell short of the comeback attempt as the Grizzlies pulled out the 12-4 victory in the doubleheader opener.
Adkins (11-0), who pitched eight innings of work in the winning effort, collected six strikeouts while surrendering one run on six hits. USCB's Jamie Strock received the loss in game one as the right-handed hurler gave up four runs on six hits while walking a game-high six batters.
After turning in a 2-for-4, four-RBI performance at the plate and a four-putout and two-assist effort at shortstop in game one, Bradley switched gears in game two and took the mound for the Grizzlies. Bradley combined with Hutchison and Solomon to record a 2-0 shutout victory for the Grizzlies. The right-handed hurler went seven innings, allowing just three hits while striking out a career-high eight batters. Solomon was credited with the save in game two as he navigated the Grizzlies out of a bases-load jam in the eighth before shutting down the Sand Sharks in the night to complete the shutout.
The Grizzlies scored twice in game two, scoring a run in the third and sixth innings of play. In the third, Merrigan lifted a sacrifice fly to deep left to score Haygood while an RBI-double to the left-center gap by Pashcal plated Rinehart in the sixth.
GGC leads the all-time series with USC-Beaufort, 9-3, sweeping all six games at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.
The Grizzlies return to action on Monday night when they host Cumberland (Tenn.) in a nine-inning contest. First pitch from the Grizzly Baseball Complex is set for 6:00 p.m.
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 link:
http://bit.ly/1SpzFcN
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