Behind the stellar pitching performance of junior Trevor Bradley, the No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett baseball team moved on to the winner's bracket final of the 2016 Association of Independent Institution Baseball Tournament, defeating fourth-seeded Mount Mercy (Iowa) 9-1.
With the 9-1 victory, the Grizzlies collected their 53rd win of the season, tying the single-season wins record set during the 2014 season. In 2014, the Grizzlies made their first-ever appearance at the Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.
"Tonight's win was the next step for us toward reaching our season goals," stated GGC head coach Brad Stromdahl. "I thought Trevor did an excellent job in just his fifth start of the season. It's remarkable to see the improvements we are making and growth the team continues to show."
In his seven innings of work, Bradley (5-0) tied the single-game record for strikeouts (12) that teammate Nikolay Uherek also reached on March 22, 2016, against Faulkner (Ala.). Previously, the record of 11 strikeouts in a game was held by Sheldon Connor (Ohio State-Lima, March 14, 2014) and Ryan Minteer (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), March 6, 2015). The right-handed, Lexington, S.C., native picked up his fifth win of the season, surrendering just one run on seven hits.
Designated hitter Marcus McCorkle also had a career day for the Grizzlies, going 4-for-5 at plate. McCorkle drove in four runs and scored once against Mount Mercy.
Georgia Gwinnett (53-4) broke the silence in the top of the third inning on McCorkle's first hit of the afternoon. The Lawrenceville native ripped a two-run double to the left-center gap, giving the Grizzlies the 2-0 advantage.
The Grizzlies struck again in the sixth when Brady Hamilton launched his ninth home run of the season over the left field fence to increase GGC's lead to 3-0.
While Mount Mercy (33-13) responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI-single off the left field fence by first baseman Tarran Beasley, the Mustangs' bats remained quiet down the stretch as the Grizzlies would score six unanswered runs, two in the seventh and four in the eighth, for the 9-1 victory.
McCorkle's second RBI-single of the day and a sacrifice fly to deep left by third baseman Angel Soto gave Georgia Gwinnett the 5-1 advantage in the sixth while an RBI-triple by center fielder Josh Merrigan and an RBI-double by first baseman Zac Rinehart pushed the GGC lead to 7-1 in the top of the eighth.
The Green and Gray added two final runs later in the eighth en route to the 9-1 victory. McCorkle's fourth and final hit of the contest was an RBI-single to shallow left, advancing the lead to 8-1. A sacrifice fly to deep left by shortstop William Paschal plated GGC's final run of the game as the Grizzlies went on to claim the 9-1 victory.
Mount Mercy's starter Cody Bell was credited with the loss as the hurler went six and one-third innings, giving up five runs on 11 hits while striking out four Grizzlies.
Georgia Gwinnett returns to the diamond on Monday at 4:00 p.m. when it faces off against second-seeded Clarke (Iowa) in the winner's bracket. The Crusaders earned a spot in the matchup by defeating third-seeded Texas A&M-Texarkana 13-3 in game three of day two of tournament play. Monday's game between Clarke and Georgia Gwinnett is the first all-time meeting between both squads.
Once again, the Grizzly Digital Network will provide live video coverage of Monday's contest. Access to the complete tournament can be purchased for $29.95 and viewed daily at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ggc. Individual game viewings are also available at $7.95 per game.
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/1SXIbho
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