The 14th-ranked Georgia Gwinnett baseball team is just one win away from successfully defending its 2016 Association of Independent Institutions title and capturing the Grizzlies' third A.I.I. championship in four seasons. The Grizzlies moved one win closer of repeating as champions on Sunday afternoon as GGC overcame a slow start to post a six-run sixth inning and a seven-run eighth inning, cruising to a 16-4 victory over Talladega (Ala.) in the winner's bracket.
"We got out to a slow start today but slowly found our groove," said GGC head coach Brad Stromdahl. "Talladega did a good job making contact with the ball in early innings, but Trevor [Bradley] settled in and finished the game with a great effort on the mound. We had five guys with two or more hits in the contest, and we hope to continue to make solid contact with the ball. We look forward to tomorrow's opportunity to move one step closer to a trip to the Avista-NAIA World Series in Lewiston."
Talladega (35-22) jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first two innings of play, but the Grizzlies (37-19) went on to score eight unanswered runs over the next four innings to take an 8-3 advantage over the Tornadoes.
GGC designated hitter Jean Paul Rodriguez pulled the Grizzlies within two, 3-1, driving in Georgia Gwinnett's first run of the day with an RBI-single down the third base line. In the top of the fifth, catcher Brady Shoppe moved the Grizzlies within one, 3-2, with an RBI-double down the right field line.
An inning later, Georgia Gwinnett rallied for six runs behind a two-run single by second baseman Deion Sellers, a two-run single by shortstop Marcus McCorkle, and a bases-loaded walk to Shoppe and left fielder Kade Carrigan to take its first lead of the day at 8-3.
In the bottom of the seventh, Talladega's Jorge Rodriguez launched a triple to the left-center gap and then scored on a wild relay throw that bounced into the Georgia Gwinnett dugout.
With an 8-4 lead, GGC tacked on seven more runs in the eighth inning to increase its gap to 15-4 over the Tornadoes. With the bases loaded, Sellers was hit by a pitch to make it 9-4. McCorkle then reached on a bases-loaded walk to give GGC a six-run, 10-4, lead. After Rodriguez lifted a sacrifice fly to left to score right fielder Rodney Tennie, first baseman Alex Garland cleared the bases with a standup triple to the right-center gap. Three pitches later, Carrigan made it 15-4 with an RBI-double down the right field line.
Georgia Gwinnett would plate one last run in the ninth with an RBI-single up the middle by Rodriguez to seal the 16-4 victory over Talladega.
Of note, McCorkle and Rodriguez combined for 10 of GGC's 16 runs in the contest as both Grizzlies drove in three runs and scored on two occasions while going a combined 3-for-7 at the plate.
GGC's Trevor Bradley (7-4) picked up the win, pitching a complete-game performance against the Tornadoes. Bradley allowed just four runs, three earned, on 10 hits while striking out seven. Talladega's Daniel Castillo (3-6) received the loss, surrendering five earned runs on five hits in five innings of work.
Georgia Gwinnett will now face the winner of second-seeded Talladega and third-seeded Edward Waters (Fla.) in the A.I.I. championship game on Monday, May 8 at 3:00 p.m.
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