The No. 12 Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team scored eight of its nine runs with two outs in defeating No. 25 Webber International University 9-6 in the series opener Friday night.

GGC (4-0) scored three runs in the fifth inning and added more four runs one inning later to build a 9-1 lead.

Junior Alex Garland drove in a pair of runs with a single in the fifth inning. He later scored on a single by junior Onassis Matos to give the visitors a 5-1 advantage.

Senior Chris Jones, the reigning Association of Independent Institutions' Hitter of the Week, delivered the big hit in the sixth inning with a two-run single. The outfielder had three hits in the victory.

Senior right hander Cole Uvila recorded 10 strikeouts in five innings to improve to 2-0 on the season. Junior left hander Gregory Loukinen picked up the save by recording the final three outs.

Turning Point

Leading 2-1 after four innings, the visitors broke the game open by scoring seven runs over the next two innings. The Grizzlies used four hits with two outs. Junior Alex Garland drove in a pair of runs in the fifth inning with a single to increase the lead to 4-1. Then, senior Chris Jones had a two-run single in the sixth inning during a four-run frame.

Key Plays

Top of Third

Alex Garland gives the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead with a RBI double to score Marcus McCorkle

Top of Fifth

Alex Garland delivers a two-run single with two outs to increase the visitors lead to 4-1

Onassis Matos followed Garland's hit with a run-scoring single to cap the team's three-run frame

Top of Sixth

Chris Jones connects on a two-run single with two outs to give GGC a 7-1 advantage

Marcus McCorkle brings home Chris Jones with a run-scoring double

Bottom of Eighth

Manny Rodriguez hit a two-run single for the Warriors to cut the deficit to 9-6

Inside The Numbers

• Eight of the nine GGC runs were scored with two outs
• Alex Garland drove in three runs on a pair of hits
• Cole Uvila recorded 10 strikeouts in five innings during the starting assignment
• GGC collected nine hits compared to six hits by the Warriors

News & Notes

• Georgia Gwinnett College improves to 4-0 on the season, while Webber International drops to 0-3 this spring
• GGC was playing its first road game of the season
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 12 and Webber International is No. 25 in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 poll. Both teams played in the 2017 Lawrenceville Opening Round of the NAIA tournament
• GGC holds a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series
• The Grizzlies have recorded a save in three of the four games this season

Up Next

Georgia Gwinnett College continues the three-game series at Webber International Saturday, Feb. 3, at 1 p.m.