Box Score

Something about playing at Harris Field seems to bring out the best in the Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team's offense.

The Grizzlies (50-11) scattered 16 hits in scoring a 20-9 victory against No. 1-seeded Faulkner University (Ala.) Tuesday afternoon to remain alive in the 2018 Avista-NAIA World Series. In fact, the No. 2-seeded Grizzlies are now one of four remaining teams in the double-elimination tournament.

 "This game wasn't about No. 1 facing No. 2, but more about tournament baseball. We did a very good job of putting the ball in play," said Head Coach Brad Stromdahl.

GGC's offense struck for two home runs, including the first grand slam of the season, and had six players with multiple-hit performances in the convincing triumph in the elimination-round game. The grand slam over the center field fence by senior Kade Carrigan gave the team a decisive 13-5 lead in the sixth inning.

Carrigan has had four hits in his eight at-bats with two home runs, a triple, seven RBI and five runs scored.

"Kade had a big home run yesterday (against Oklahoma City University) and had a couple of huge hits for us today," said Stromdahl, whose Grizzlies achieved the 50-win plateau for third time in the past four seasons.

Georgia Gwinnett College has scored 10 or more runs in five of seven games it has played this season at Lewis-Clark State College's Harris Field, site of the Avista-NAIA World Series. The team scored a school-record 26 runs in a regular-season victory against Lewis-Clark State College in early March.

This time the Grizzlies scored multiple runs in five of the nine innings, including five runs in the second inning. Carrigan delivered a two-run triple to center field in the frame. The team added three more runs one inning later to hold a comfortable 8-0 early advantage.

Faulkner (54-9), which had defeated GGC in three of four regular-season contests this spring, hit three home runs, including a pair of two-run homers, to trim the deficit to 8-5 by the fourth inning.

That's when Carrigan and the Grizzlies responded with the seven-run sixth inning to break the game open. Three more runs in the seventh inning and an additional two tallies in the eighth inning were valuable insurance runs.

"When you play a team like Faulkner, no lead is safe because of how they swing it and score runs in bunches," Stromdahl said.

Senior relief pitcher Cole Uvila helped extinguish the Faulkner offense in the middle innings. He struck out 10 batters across 5.1 innings to pick up the victory.

Junior Brandon Frazier went 3-for-5, including a two-run home run in the seventh inning, and scored three runs. Junior C.J. Ballard also had three hits while adding two RBI and scoring three runs. Juniors Alex Garland and Onassis Matosjoined freshman Walter Coursey and Carrigan in having multiple-hit offensive efforts.

Turning Point

Leading 8-5 after the Eagles had scored five consecutive runs, the Grizzlies struck the final blow with one swing of the bat. Senior Kade Carrigan turned on a pitch and deposited a grand slam over the center field fence to give GGC a 13-5 lead in the sixth inning. The Grizzlies added seven runs in the frame to take a commanding 15-5 lead.

Key Plays

Top of Second

Onassis Matos hit an RBI double off the wall in left field

Kade Carrigan lined a two-run triple to center field to give GGC a 3-0 lead

 

Top of Third

C.J. Ballard opened the team's three-run inning with a ground out that scored Brandon Frazier

Walter Coursey hit a two-run double to give GGC an early 8-0 lead

 

Bottom of Third

Te'kwaan Whyte connected on a two-run home run to right field for Faulkner

 

Bottom of Fourth

Austin Paschke's two-run home run brought the Eagles within four runs of catching GGC

Reid Long followed with another homer to make things even more interesting at 8-5

 

Top of Sixth

Onassis Matos delivered a run-scoring single to bring home Marcus McCorkle

Kade Carrigan connected on a grand slam home run over the center field fence to give GGC a commanding 13-5 lead

 

Top of Seventh

Brandon Frazier hit a two-run home run give the Grizzlies another 10-run lead

 

By The Numbers

• Georgia Gwinnett has scored 20 or more runs in two occasions this season; both coming at Harris Field (scoring a school-record 26 runs on March 7)
• The Grizzlies tallied 16 hits, led by six players having multiple hits
• Junior Brandon Frazier collected three hits and scored three more runs, while junior C.J. Ballard had three hits and scored three times
• Senior Cole Uvila struck out 10 batters in earning the victory in relief

News & Notes

• Georgia Gwinnett College improves to 50-11 on the season; Faulkner ends the 2018 season with a 54-8 record
• GGC is 3-3 all time in games at the Avista-NAIA World Series
• The Grizzlies' 20 runs are the most scored at the World Series since the University of British Columbia had 23 runs in a 2006 game
• GGC has collected 30 hits in its last two victories at the 2018 Avista-World Series.
• GGC has won 50 games for the third time in the program's six seasons
• The Grizzlies are making their second appearance in the World Series; the team also advanced to Lewiston, Idaho, in 2014
• Georgia Gwinnett College was ranked No. 2 in the final regular-season NAIA Top 25 poll; Faulkner was ranked No. 1 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll

Up Next

Georgia Gwinnett College earns a spot in the final four of the 2018 Avista-NAIA World Series, playing again on Wednesday, May 30. The opponent and game time will be determined following the outcome of Tuesday's tournament games.