The top-ranked Georgia Gwinnett baseball team reached the 40-win mark on Friday afternoon as the Grizzlies defeated Talladega (Ala.) in a 21-6 run-rule rout of the Tornadoes.
The Grizzlies (40-2) are the first team in the NAIA to reach 40 wins in 2016, boasting the NAIA's best record.
Left fielder Michael Hodorowski had a career day for the Grizzlies, going 4-for-5 from the plate and falling just a home run shy of the cycle. Hodorowski entered the GGC record book by tying the single-game RBI record, driving in seven runs in the contest. The Kennesaw native joins Kyler Timmerman (OSU-Lima, March 19, 2016) and Arsenio Watlington (Blue Mountain (Miss.), Jan. 30, 2015) as the three Grizzlies to record the mark.
GGC took a 2-0 lead in the opening inning of play with a two-run double by right fielder Trumon Jefferson. In the bottom frame, the Tornadoes (15-18) collected five of their six runs of the game to take a 5-2 lead. Two RBI-singles by Luis Alvardo and Emmanuel Lopez, coupled with a two-run single by Victor Negron, allowed Talladega to push its advantage to 4-2 while an infield chopper to third plated the fifth Tornado run of the game.
Talladega's lead quickly vanished in the top of the second as the Grizzlies scored 10 runs to regain a 12-5 lead. Hodorowski drove in his first run of the day with an RBI-single, scoring Timmerman who led the inning off with a triple. After a single by catcher Alex Lugo moved him to third, Hodorowski scored the fourth Grizzly run of the game on a sacrifice fly by third baseman William Paschal.
On a 1-0 count, first baseman Brady Hamilton launched a three-run home run over the left field fence to put GGC ahead 7-5. Hamilton's shot to left was his third home run in two games, pushing his season total to six. During Hodorowski's second at bat of the inning, the left fielder ripped a bases-clearing, three-run triple to the left-center field gap, increasing Georgia Gwinnett's lead to 10-5. The final two runs of the 10-run second inning came on an RBI-double by Lugo and an RBI-single by second baseman Jereid Woods.
The Grizzlies added two more insurance runs in the fourth for the 14-5 lead. Hodorowski drove in his fifth run of the game with an RBI-single to left while Woods ripped his second RBI-single of the day for the nine-run lead.
The Tornadoes' final run of the contest came in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI-double by Gabriel Matias.
In the top of the sixth, Jabari Gayle scored the first of six insurance runs of the inning, lifting a solo home run over the left field fence. Gayle's blast was his second in two games and third of the season. After shortstop Marcus McCorkle belted a triple to right, center fielder Josh Merrigan lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center to plate the 16th Grizzly run of the game. Jefferson continued the GGC scoring rally with an RBI-double while Timmerman recorded an RBI-single to push the Grizzly advantage to 18-6.
Later in the sixth, Hodorowski drove in his final runs of the game with a two-run double to the right-center field gap, increasing the lead to 20-6.
In the top of the seventh, McCorkle drove in the final Grizzly run of the game with an RBI-single to center.
GGC's starter Tyler Oglesby picked up the win, surrendering six runs on 11 hits while striking out five batters in five innings of work. Talladega's Juan Marmol was credited with the loss as the Tornado starter lasted just two innings, giving up 12 runs on 11 hits.
Georgia Gwinnett is back in action on Saturday when it wraps up its three-game series against Talladega with a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Eastern. Game two will begin approximately 30 minutes after the completion of game one.
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