Senior Brody Wofford sent the first pitch in the top of the ninth inning over the right field fence to cap a late-inning rally that sent the Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team to the 2019 Avista-NAIA World Series with a 2-1 victory Wednesday afternoon against Georgetown College (Ky.).

GGC (46-11) trailed 1-0 after seven innings before scoring a single run in the eighth and ninth innings to capture the Lawrenceville Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.

"I figured I would be more aggressive early in the count. I hit a double off the wall in right (field) on a breaking ball earlier in the game. I thought that they were going to throw me a fastball. He left it over the plate and I hit the mistake," said Wofford of his go-ahead homer.

The top-seeded Grizzlies will be making their third appearance to the World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, including back-to-back trips.

"That was a fun game. I am so happy for our players, coaches and program that we battled through. We earned a victory today against a really good Georgetown team. We got some tremendous pitching performances today and their starting pitcher was fantastic," said Head Coach Brad Stromdahl.

Georgetown (45-15) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a RBI single from Nick Giambalvo. The No. 2-seeded Tigers would leave the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning.

That's when GGC started its comeback.

Senior Brandon Frazier drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game, 1-1, with two outs in the top of the eighth inning. Then, the tournament hosts took its first lead of the game one inning later on Wofford's team-leading 10th homer of the season.

Senior reliever Matthew Swain retired all three batters in the ninth inning to secure the victory and World Series berth. The right hander struck out three batters in 2.1 innings to pick up the victory. Senior starting pitcher Gregory Loukinen had eight strikeouts across 6.2 innings for the Grizzlies.

The game was vastly different from the contest played nearly 24 hours earlier between the two teams – a 12-2 GGC victory that moved the Grizzlies into the championship round.

"We are a team that fights until the end," stated Wofford. "We have a mentality that we were going to make this (tournament) a three-game series. For one game, you're going to definitely win, another game is going to be there to win, and the last game is going to be up for grabs. This was a close, tight game that we were able to win."

The 2019 NAIA World Series begins on May 24 in Lewiston, Idaho. GGC's 2018 team reached the semifinal round of the 10-team double-elimination tournament.

 

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: @GGC_Baseball wins the 2019 Lawrenceville Bracket with a dramatic 2-1 come-from-behind victory to advance to the Avista-NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho #GGCAthletics #NAIABaseball pic.twitter.com/2rfod1ScE9

— GGC Athletics (@GGCAthletics) May 16, 2019

 
Turning Point
GGC's hitters had exhibited patience at the plate throughout the game. That was until senior Brody Wofford stepped to the plate to open the top of the ninth inning. The outfielder deposited a first pitch fastball deep over the right field fence to give the Grizzlies the eventual 2-1 victory.
 
Key Plays
Bottom of First
Nick Giambalvo hit a run-scoring single to right field to bring home Joseph Wall, giving the Tigers an early 1-0 lead
 
Bottom of Eighth
Brandon Frazier drew a bases-loaded walk to score Brenton Burgess with the tying score, 1-1
 
Bottom of Ninth
Brody Wofford connected on his team-leading 10th home run of the season to give the Grizzlies the 2-1 advantage
 
Inside The Numbers

• Georgetown outhit GGC by an 8-to-5 margin
• All five hits for the Grizzlies were extra-base hits (four doubles and one home run)
• Three GGC pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts in the victory
• Senior Brody Wofford and sophomore Cord Johnson each collected two hits

News & Notes

• GGC improves to 46-11 on the season; Georgetown ends the 2019 season with a 45-15 record
• 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 making its third trip to the Avista-NAIA World Series; the team advanced to the semifinal round of the 2018 series
• Two of the team's three wins in the Lawrenceville Bracket came against Georgetown
• GGC has won six straight postseason games this spring
• The victory, combined with the softball team's winning its Opening Round tournament (earlier on Wednesday) means all six of GGC's athletic teams have advanced to the NAIA Championship sites in their respective sports during the 2018-19 athletic season

Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College advances to the Avista-NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho, from May 24-31. Tournament information will be forthcoming from the NAIA.