Box Score

An early wake-up call woke up the bats for the No. 2-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team Monday, scattering 14 hits for a 13-3 victory against No. 4-seeded Oklahoma City University to remain alive in the 2018 Avista-NAIA World Series.

Playing the first game of the day, starting at 8:30 a.m. PDT, GGC (49-11) scored runs in five consecutive innings to bounce back from a 5-3 loss to Freed-Hardeman Sunday in the team's first game of the tournament.

Five runs came in the third inning and four more runs were added one inning later as the Grizzlies seized control of the elimination-round contest.

"It was a really good bounce-back performance against a quality Oklahoma City team," said Head Coach Brad Stromdahl. "We were able to put some balls in play and score runs. It was a total team effort in a game that we needed to remain in the tournament."

Ten Georgia Gwinnett College players registered a hit, including two home runs and two doubles. Meanwhile, junior left-hander Gregory Loukinen was in command on the mound, striking out nine opposing hitters across 8.2 innings.

Freshman Walter Coursey opened the team's scoring outburst with an RBI single to bring home junior Jordan Tylski. Junior Onassis Matos gave the Grizzlies a 3-0 lead with a run-scoring single to center field. Junior Brandon Frazierfollowed with a two-run double off the wall in right-center field to cap the five-run big third inning.

One inning later, senior Kade Carrigan connected on a leadoff home run over the right field fence. Junior Alex Garlandprovided an RBI single later in the inning.

Then, senior Chris Jones contributed a solo home run in the fifth inning to give GGC a commanding 10-2 advantage. The team added two more runs in the sixth inning and had an additional run in the seventh inning.

Junior C.J. Ballard led the offense with three hits, three runs scored, a double and a walk from the top of the team's batting order. Carrigan and Matos each collected two hits.

Loukinen improved to 7-1 on the season and has won both of his NAIA postseason starting assignments.

"Gregory is our workhouse and gave us the type of performance we needed," said Stromdahl.

Turning Point

The Grizzlies broke through in a big way in the bottom of the third inning, scoring five runs on four hits. Freshman Walter Coursey brought home the first run of the frame with a run-scoring single. Additional runs were scored on a fielder's choice from a ground ball hit by junior Alex Garland and a single by junior Onassis Matos – stretching the lead to 3-0. Junior Brandon Frazier provided the big hit in the inning with a two-run double that capped GGC's five-run inning.

Key Plays

Bottom of Third

Walter Coursey brought home Jordan Tylski with a run-scoring single to open the scoring

Alex Garland hit an RBI fielder's choice to give GGC a 2-0 advantage

Onassis Matos connected on an RBI single to center field to score Walter Coursey

Brandon Frazier capped the team's five-run inning with a two-run double off the wall in right-center field

 

Bottom of Fourth

Kade Carrigan led off the inning with a home run over the right field fence

Alex Garland hit a run-scoring single to bring home C.J. Ballard

Marcus McCorkle stole third base and later scored on a throwing error, putting the Grizzlies on top 8-0

Alex Garland scored on a wild pitch to cap the team's four-run inning

 

Bottom of Fifth

Chris Jones connected on a solo home run to right field as the Grizzlies stretched the lead to 10-2

 

By The Numbers

• Ten players registered a hit for the Grizzlies
• GGC collected 14 hits in the contest
• The Grizzlies connected on two home runs
• Fifteen different players saw playing time for GGC

News & Notes

• Georgia Gwinnett College improves to 49-11 on the season; Oklahoma City ends the 2018 season with a 51-10 record
• GGC is now 2-3 all time in games at the Avista-NAIA World Series
• The Grizzlies are making their second appearance in the World Series; the team also advanced to Lewiston, Idaho, in 2014
• Monday's meeting was the first contest played between the two colleges
• Georgia Gwinnett College was ranked No. 2 in the final regular-season NAIA Top 25 poll; Oklahoma City was ranked No. 5 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll

Up Next

Georgia Gwinnett College advances to play Tuesday, May 29, at 2 p.m. EDT against the loser of Monday's game between No. 1-seeded Faulkner University (Ala.) and No. 5-seeded Southeastern University (Fla.).