Georgia Gwinnett's 13th-ranked softball team finished its 2017 Gulf Coast Invitational tournament run on Sunday, wrapping up the three-day invitational with an 8-2 victory over Lyon College (Ark.).
The Grizzlies (16-5) went 3-2 during the Gulf Coast Invitational, picking up wins against Brenau (Ga.) and Missouri Baptist.
"We finished off a good weekend of play, growing as a team," stated GGC head coach Kat Ihlenburg. "We had a lot of freshmen contribute throughout the tournament, and we will go as far as they grow in 2017. Our team looks forward to returning home and tweaking some things to keep the momentum going."
Georgia Gwinnett scored the first run of the contest in the top of the first inning on a fielding error by the Scots. Center fielder Niki Cook led off the inning with a single, stole second base, and then was moved to third, prior to scoring, with a sacrifice bunt by shortstop Brashante Dareus.
Lyon (10-10) tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the third with a grounder to short by first baseman Katelyn Thomason.
GGC responded with seven runs over the next three innings of play to increase its gap to 8-1. In the fourth, a two-run single to left by designated player Sydney Willhite made it 3-1. An RBI-single in the fifth by Dareus pushed the Grizzlies' lead to 4-1 while a suicide squeeze bunt down the third base line by first baseman Hailey Burnham increased the advantage to 5-1.
In the sixth, right fielder RaeQuinn Rossetti walked with the bases loaded to make it 6-1. Dareus drove in her second run of the game with a sacrifice fly to deep left field, pushing the gap to 7-1. The Grizzlies scored their final run of the contest two pitches later when Burnham ripped an RBI-single to left, driving in GGC's eighth and final run of the contest.
While the Scots rallied for a run in the bottom of the sixth off an RBI-single by Allie Lewis, Lyon could not overcome GGC's early advantage as the Grizzlies pulled out the 8-2 win.
GGC's Taylor Hansis received the win, pitching a complete game for the Grizzlies. The right-handed Longs, S.C., native surrendered just two runs, one earned, on four hits while striking out eight of the 26 batters she faced. Lyon's Nicole Sanders received the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in four innings of work.
Next, Georgia Gwinnett returns home to the Grizzly Softball Complex on Thursday as the Grizzlies host Montreat (N.C.) in doubleheader action. First pitch of the twin bill is set for 2:00 p.m.
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