The second-ranked Georgia Gwinnett baseball team split its opening day of action at the Grizzly Spring Baseball Classic, improving to 17-6 on the season.
In game one, the Grizzlies defeated Madonna (Mich.) 15-9, but fell to No. 8 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 12-3 in the nightcap.
Against Madonna (10-10), the Grizzlies held a brief 1-0 lead in the first inning with a sacrifice fly to deep center by first baseman Brady Hamilton. The Crusaders battled back to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the second, capitalizing on an RBI-triple by designated hitter Mitch Hudvagner and a wild pitch by GGC's starter Tyler Souris.
While GGC regained a 3-2 advantage in the bottom third on a suicide squeeze bunt by center fielder Rodney Tennie and a sacrifice fly by shortstop Trevor Bradley, Madonna forged ahead with a 6-3 gap, scoring four runs in the top of the fourth.
As in previous innings, the Grizzlies responded on offense, scoring seven runs in the bottom of the fourth for a 10-6 lead. Bradley drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI-single to center while a bases loaded walk to right fielder Jean Figueroa drew the Grizzlies within one, 6-5. Second baseman Marcus McCorkle then tied the game at 6-6 with an RBI-single to shallow left, scoring Bradley. With two outs in the inning, pinch hitter Kyler Timmerman crushed the first pitch that he saw off of Madonna's Zack Schmidtke over the left field fence for a grand slam home run, pushing GGC's lead to 10-6.
GGC would go on to plate four more insurance runs, two in the sixth and two in the seventh, pushing their lead to 15-8 heading into the ninth. While the Crusaders managed one run, cutting the deficit to 15-9, Madonna could not overcome the Grizzlies' early lead, sending GGC to its 17th win of 2017.
Reliever Nick Andrews (1-0) collected his first win as a Grizzly in the contest. The left-hander surrendered just two runs on five hits and struck out four batters in four innings of work. Madonna's starter Johno Rodriguez (3-2) was credited with the loss.
In the nightcap against No. 8 Lewis-Clark State (9-4), the Warriors took an early 3-0 lead with an RBI-double by J.J. Robinson, and a sacrifice fly and RBI-single by Logan Griffin.
The second-ranked Grizzlies tied the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI-single by left fielder Austin Alexander, but the Warriors' offense responded with four runs in the seventh and five in the ninth to defeat the Grizzlies 12-3. LCSC's Henry McAree (1-0) picked up his first win of the season, striking out five Grizzlies in 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. McAree allowed just one hit in 3.1 innings of work. GGC's Grant Sebastian (0-1) suffered the loss, surrendering the go-ahead run in the seventh.
Next up the Grizzlies will square off again with No. 8 Lewis-Clark State on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.
All contests against the Grizzly baseball team during the Spring Baseball Classic will be broadcasted live on the Grizzly Digital Network, featuring the voice of the Grizzlies Matt Mahony.
Tickets for each day are $5 for adults, $3 for youth, seniors, and military, and free for children under five. All members of the GGC community receive free admission with their Claw Card. Season ticket packages are also on sale for all regular season contests. For more information on ticketing, click here. Free game day parking is available in the deck at the entrance to the GGC campus. Georgia Gwinnett is a tobacco and pet free campus.
Below is the complete Grizzly Spring Baseball Classic schedule and game matchups:
Friday, March 10
3:00 p.m. – #8 Lewis-Clark State vs. Madonna
7:00 p.m. – #8 Lewis-Clark State vs. #2 GGC
Saturday, March 11
3:00 p.m. – (RV) Indiana Tech vs. #8 Lewis-Clark State
7:00 p.m. – Madonna vs #2 GGC
Sunday, March 12
10:00 a.m. – Lewis-Clark State vs. (RV) Indiana Tech
3:00 p.m. – (RV) Indiana Tech vs #2 GGC
For all the latest on Grizzly Athletics, including news, scores, and features, visit GrizzlyAthletics.com. Check out all the latest Grizzly Athletics social media content via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, and join the conversation by using #GGCAthletics. Interact with the Grizzly baseball team directly via Twitter at @GGC_Baseball.
