Next Game: No. 5 Georgia Gwinnett at Albany State (Ga.)
Location: Albany, Ga.
Media Information: 2017 GGC Baseball Media Guide
The fifth-ranked Georgia Gwinnett baseball team avoided a series sweep on Sunday as the Grizzlies defeated No. 24 Freed-Hardeman 7-5 in the series finale.
"Today, we had great pitching and hitting and defensively we made some adjustments that improved our play," said GGC head coach Brad Stromdahl. "I'm really happy for our team as they came back when down and played hard with great intensity versus a tremendous opponent in Freed-Hardeman."
In the victory, the Grizzlies (2-3) battled back on two occasions to take the lead after trailing in the early going. Right fielder Austin Alexander drove in the go-ahead runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out, two-run home run over the right field fence.
Freed-Hardeman (2-1) opened the contest with a 2-0 lead after the first two innings of play. In the first, designated hitter Chase Young lifted a sacrifice fly to right-center, scoring the Lions' first run of the day. An inning later, an RBI-triple by right fielder Jacob Sawyers pushed FHU's gap to 2-0.
GGC's first baseman Brady Hamilton cut the Lions' lead to one, 2-1, in the bottom of the second, launching his second home run of the season over the left field fence. The Grizzlies tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth with a sacrifice fly by Deion Sellers.
While Freed-Hardeman pushed two runs across the plate in the top of the fifth, Georgia Gwinnett would respond with four runs of its own in the bottom of the inning. Designated hitter Chris Jones started the two-out rally, reaching on an infield bunt single. After stealing second base, Jones would score on an RBI-double by second baseman Marcus McCorkle. In what would have been the final out of the inning, Hamilton lifted a high fly ball to left where the Lions' left fielder dropped the ball, allowing Hamilton to reach and McCorkle to score, tying the game at 4-4. On a 1-1 fastball, Alexander gave GGC the 6-4 advantage with his first home run, a two-run shot, in a Grizzly uniform.
The Lions cut GGC's lead to 6-5 in the top of the sixth, but the Grizzlies answered with an insurance run in the seventh to increase the gap back to two runs, 7-5. Junior Brady Shoppe led off the inning with a triple to the right-center gap and then scored on McCorkle's second RBI-hit of the afternoon.
Georgia Gwinnett's starting pitcher, Trevor Bradley (1-0), picked up the win for Grizzlies, striking out seven batters while surrendering three earned runs on six hits in five innings of work. Freed-Hardeman's Kyle Douglas (0-1) suffered the loss while GGC's Tanner Shelton picked up his first save as a Grizzly.
The Grizzlies now hits the road on Wednesday where they will face NCAA Division II foe Albany State (Ga.) in Albany, Ga. First pitch for the nine-inning contest is slated for 4:00 p.m.
To access a photo gallery from this week's action, click here.
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