The fifth-ranked Georgia Gwinnett softball team's record-setting season came to an end on Wednesday afternoon as the Grizzlies were edged by Warner (Fla.) 2-0 in the championship game of the NAIA Softball Opening Round Lawrenceville Bracket.
The Grizzlies left three base runners stranded in the contest that saw just Niki Cook (2) and Elyssa Melton (1) connect with hits during the contest while the Royals capitalized on five hits to the win the championship game and advance to the NAIA Softball World Series in Clermont, Fla., May 26-June 1 as the No. 7 seed.
"Looking back on this year, it was a great season," said GGC head coach Kat Ihlenburg. "We had a complete body of work, and the team can be very proud of their effort for sure. I want to individually thank my seniors, Mary Burk, Hailey Burnham, Brashante Dareus, Katie Jo Goodwin, and Chelsi Palazzo, for their dedication to a growing program and helping us develop it for the future players who enter our program and take things to new heights. I hope we continue to climb and reach our goal of a NAIA Softball World Series championship in the near future."
The lone runs of the contest came off a two-run home run by Warner's catcher Sara Bruno in the top of the third. The right-hander drove a line drive shot just over the left field fence to secure the Royals' 2-0 victory.
Minus Warner's home run in the third, GGC's starter Chelsi Palazzo pitched a gem, allowing just five scattered hits in the complete game effort. Warner's Chelsie Valentine finished the contest with a complete game shutout, striking out five Grizzlies without surrendering a run while scattering three hits in seven innings of work.
Of note, Cook finished 2017 with a single-season program-best 117 hits and 71 stolen bases. Cook's 117 hits falls just three shy of the NAIA's single-season record of 120.
Georgia Gwinnett ends 2017 with a program-best 50-9-1 record, capturing a 50-wins season for the first time in the program's brief five-year history.
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