A three home run day for the No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett baseball team propelled the Grizzlies to a 6-3 victory over Cumberland (Tenn.) on Wednesday afternoon as GGC bounced back into the win column.
With Wednesday's win, the Grizzlies (39-2) lead the all-time series against the Phoenix 4-1.
"It's great to pick up a win today after yesterday's loss," stated GGC head coach Brad Stromdahl. "Each day is an opportunity to get better, and today, we did that."
The Grizzlies jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when right fielder Brady Hamilton smashed the third pitch he saw well over the left field fence of Ernest L. Stockton Field at the Woody Hunt Stadium. Georgia Gwinnett extended its lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth with an RBI-double by designated hitter Angel Soto.
Cumberland (24-17) broke up the one-sided affair in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI-grounder by second baseman Hector Viera. The chopper cut the GGC lead in half at 2-1.
The second GGC home run of the game came in the top of the seventh when Jabari Gayle ripped a two-run, pinch hit blast over the left field wall, giving the Grizzlies the 4-1 lead. Previously, Soto reached based when he was hit by a pitch.
The Phoenix responded with a long-ball of their own in the bottom of the frame when catcher Kyle Allen connected for a solo shot, narrowing GGC's gap to 4-2.
Just a half inning later, Hamilton capitalized on a hanging curve to lift his second home run of the day over the left field fence. The two-run blast pushed the Grizzles' lead to 6-2 as third baseman William Paschal reached on a single before Hamilton stepped to the plate.
The Cumberland offense attempted one last comeback in the bottom of the eighth with a sacrifice fly by center fielder Gabe Lares, but the Phoenix fell short down the stretch as GGC reliever Davis Adkins shut down the final four batters en route to the 6-3 Grizzly victory.
GGC starter Will Solomon (8-0) collected the win for the Grizzlies, striking out seven batters while surrendering just one run on two hits in his six innings of work. Cumberland's Drew Chester (2-1) received the loss while GGC's Adkins picked up his sixth save of the season.
Georgia Gwinnett is back in action on Friday when it travels to Alabama, to face Talladega in a three-game set. Game one of the series will take place on Friday starting at 6 p.m. Eastern while the three-game set will conclude on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
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