The Georgia Gwinnett College softball team scored three timely runs in the sixth inning to support a strong pitching performance in a 5-1 victory against Georgetown College (Kentucky) to begin the NAIA Opening Round Lawrenceville Bracket Monday afternoon at the Grizzly Softball Complex.

The top-seeded Grizzlies (33-11) now advance to the tournament's winner's bracket game on Tuesday, May 18, scheduled to start at noon.

Sophomore Sydney Pelaez tallied three of GGC's 10 hits and helped the team score its first two runs in the contest. She lined an RBI single to left field to bring home sophomore Lea McFadden in the first inning.

Two innings later, the catcher drove a ball off the left field wall for a double and scored on the play following defensive errors by Georgetown's left fielder and shortstop. Pelaez's hitting and hustle gave the Grizzlies a 2-0 advantage in the third inning.

Georgetown (27-21), the tournament's No. 4 seed, got a run back in the fourth frame on a sacrifice fly from Lindsey Mitchell after Kristen Klimesh had legged out a one-out triple to right field.

The tournament hosts kept the lead behind a key defensive play in the top of the sixth inning. Freshman right fielder Kloey Goins threw out the potential-tying run at home plate following Klimesh's second hit of the game, this one coming with two outs in the inning. Goins fired the ball to Pelaez who tagged out baserunner Brooke Chick before crossing the plate from third base.

The Grizzlies carried that momentum into the bottom of the frame by pushing across three runs. McFadden lined an RBI double off the wall in left field to extend the lead to 4-1. Junior Piper Wagner, the 2021 Association of Independent Institutions Player of the Year, added a run-scoring double later in the inning.

Sophomore pitcher Alexa Good went the distance in the circle, registering 11 strikeouts and scattering two hits in the outing. Good now has a 21-3 record for the season.
  The Grizzlies maintained a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning through a stellar defensive play. After a two-out base hit from Kristen Klimesh, GGC right fielder Kloey Goins delivered a strong throw to sophomore catcher Sydney Pelaez for the tag on baserunner Brooke Chick to end the threat.
  Bottom of First
Sydney Pelaez lined an RBI single down the left field line to bring home Lea McFadden and open the scoring
 
Bottom of Third
Sydney Pelaez hit a double and later scored on the same play following two defensive errors
 
Top of Fourth
Lindsey Mitchell cut the deficit in half, 2-1, with a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Kristen Klimesh, who had earlier tripled
 
Bottom of Sixth
Lea McFadden lined a run-scoring double off the wall in left field to give the Grizzlies a 4-1 lead
Piper Wagner followed with an RBI double
 

• GGC outhit Georgetown by a 10-2 margin in the contest
• Sophomore pitcher Alexa Good recorded 11 strikeouts in the complete-game victory
• Sophomore catcher Sydney Pelaez went 3-for-4 at the plate and was on the receiving end of a key defensive play in the sixth inning to keep GGC's 2-1 lead
• The Grizzlies tallied three doubles in the game

• GGC improves to 33-11 for the season, while Georgetown drops to 27-21 in 2021
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 8 in the final regular-season NAIA Top 25 poll
• GGC was the No. 1 seed in the Lawrenceville Bracket of the 2021 NAIA Opening Round; Georgetown stood as the No. 4 seed in the double-elimination tournament
• The Grizzlies have won five of the six meetings all-time between the two colleges

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to play on Tuesday, May 18, at noon from the Grizzly Softball Complex in a winners' bracket contest of the Lawrenceville Bracket.