A six-run seventh inning propelled the top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team to a 12-2 victory against No. 2-seeded Georgetown College (Ky.) on Tuesday in the Lawrenceville Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.

The Grizzlies (45-11) advance to the championship round of the tournament, awaiting an opponent for a game on Wednesday, May 15, at 3 p.m. The team is striving to make its second straight trip to the Avista-NAIA World Series and third appearance in program history.

GGC hitters and pitchers flexed their muscles against the Tigers. The hosts took a 3-0 lead in the second inning behind run-scoring singles from sophomore Cord Johnson, sophomore Cam Coursey and senior C.J. Ballard. The lead grew to 5-0 by the third inning following RBI singles by seniors Alex Garland and Brenton Burgess.

Then, Garland capped off his big offensive day with a solo home run in the fifth inning. He went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI for the day.

After leading 6-2, Georgia Gwinnett College pulled away even farther by connecting on three extra-base hits in the seventh inning. Coursey legged out a two-run triple before sophomore Nick Barnes hit a two-run home run. Junior Gabe Austin also had a double earlier in the frame.

Coursey collected four hits and drove in three runs, while Ballard had three hits in the team's 18-hit offensive attack.

Meanwhile, senior pitcher Jonathan McKinney struck out six batters across the first five innings before junior Hunter Caudelle tossed four scoreless innings in relief to pick up the save. Caudelle had seven strikeouts in the relief appearance.

 

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: @GGC_Baseball pulled away behind a big seventh inning to defeat Georgetown 12-2 and grab a spot in the championship round of the #NAIABaseball Lawrenceville Bracket Opening Round #GGCAthletics pic.twitter.com/Ds2zDeYNQn

— GGC Athletics (@GGCAthletics) May 15, 2019

Turning Point
The tournament hosts took any suspense out of the contest early by scoring five runs across the first three innings. RBI singles by sophomore Cord Johnson and Cam Coursey were followed by senior C.J. Ballard during a three-run second inning. The team added two more runs in the third inning.
 
Key Plays
Bottom of Second
Cord Johnson hit a run-scoring single to open the scoring
Cam Coursey delivered a RBI single to bring home Brenton Burgess
C.J. Ballard added another run-scoring single
 
Bottom of Third
Alex Garland gave the Grizzlies a 4-0 lead with a RBI single
Brenton Burgess followed with a run-scoring single to bring home Alex Garland
 
Bottom of Seventh
Cam Coursey legged out a two-run triple to extend GGC's lead to 9-2
Nick Barnes connected on a two-run home run
 
Inside The Numbers

• GGC tallied 18 hits in the victory, led by sophomore Cam Coursey with four hits
• Four players recorded multiple-hit efforts
• Senior Jonathan McKinney and junior Hunter Caudelle combined for 13 strikeouts on the mound
• Senior Alex Garland has hit a home run in both of the team's games in the NAIA Opening Round

News & Notes

• GGC improves to 45-11 on the season; Georgetown falls to 44-14 this spring
• Georgia Gwinnett College was the top seed in the Lawrenceville Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round; Georgetown stood as the No. 2 seed
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 4 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll of the regular season
• GGC is one win away from making its third trip to the Avista-NAIA World Series

Up Next
Top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College plays in the championship round of the Lawrenceville Bracket on Wednesday, May 15, at 3 p.m. at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.