The Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team has earned a spot in the championship game of the NAIA Opening Round Santa Barbara Bracket after winning a pair of elimination games Wednesday at Westmont College in California.

The top-seeded Grizzlies (45-10) opened the day by defeating tournament host Westmont 14-4 before picking up a 12-4 victory against No. 2 seed Hope International University (California) in the nightcap.

GGC will once again face Hope International on Thursday, May 20, at noon pacific time for an opportunity to play in the 2021 Avista NAIA World Series.

The team's play in the sixth inning proved to be critical in the Hope International contest. Holding onto a 5-4 lead with runners on the corners, GGC turned to senior reliever Hunter Caudelle to get out of the one-out jam. The right hander got an opposing hitter to fly out to left field. The Royals thought they had tied the game with the sacrifice fly. However, it was found that the base runner had left third base early. The resulting call was the third out and took the run off the scoreboard.

In the bottom of the frame, the top-seeded Grizzlies scored six runs to build an 11-4 advantage. Back-to-back run-scoring singles from freshman Chase Evans and junior Cord Johnson started the productive inning. Junior Livingston Morris added a two-run single.

Another big inning turned an early 3-0 deficit into a 5-3 GGC advantage in the third frame. Senior Griffin Keller connected on a two-run home run to open the scoring. An RBI single from senior Kyle Harvey tied the game before junior Nick Barnes followed with a go-ahead two-run homer.

Junior starting pitcher Gavin Heltemes tossed a season-high 5.1 innings before turning things over to Caudelle, who struck out three batters and did not allow a hit in 3.2 innings. He picked up his fifth save of the season.

The Grizzlies avenged an 8-5 setback to Hope International from Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the Grizzlies built a 9-1 lead through six innings by scoring three runs in the second and sixth innings. Barnes' three-run homer provided the scoring punch in the sixth frame.

Junior starting pitcher Adam McKillican tossed seven strong innings, while sophomore reliever Hunter Moody pitched two scoreless innings to secure the victory.

GGC collected 14 hits in the game and took advantage of five errors by the Westmont defense.
 
The Grizzlies gave the ball to senior reliever Hunter Caudelle with runners at the corners and leading 5-4 in the sixth inning. The right hander got a fly out to left field, a sacrifice that allowed a base runner to score the tying run. However, after the play it was determined that the HIU runner had left third base early. The out call ended the inning. GGC carried the positive momentum into the bottom half of the inning, when six runs were scored to give the team a commanding 11-4 advantage.
 
Westmont Game
Top of Second
Austin Bates hit a two-run double to extend GGC's early lead to 3-0
Griffin Keller added an RBI groundout
 
Top of Sixth
Nick Barnes connected on a three-run home run
 
Top of Eighth
Nick Barnes hit an RBI single to bring home Kyle Harvey
 
Hope International Game
Bottom of Third
Griffin Keller hit a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 3-2
Kyle Harvey tied the game with a run-scoring single
Nick Barnes connected on a two-run home run to give the Grizzlies a 5-3 lead
 
Bottom of Sixth
Chase Evans gave the Grizzlies a 6-4 lead with an infield single
Cord Johnson hit an RBI single to bring home Myles McKisic
Livingston Morris drove in a pair of runs with a single through the right side of the infield to cap a six-run inning
 

• The Grizzlies tallied 28 hits to score 25 runs across the two games
• GGC has hit nine home runs during its four games in the Santa Barbara Bracket
• GGC had eight stolen bases across the two games, with seven coming against Westmont

• GGC improves to 45-10 in 2021; Westmont ended the season with a 30-22 record; Hope International drops to 29-14 this spring
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 6 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll; Hope International stood No. 14 in the same poll; Westmont was receiving votes in the final Top 25 poll
• GGC is the No. 1 seed in the Santa Barbara Bracket of the 2021 NAIA Opening Round; Hope International is the No. 2 seed and Westmont stood as the No. 3 seed

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to play Hope International University (California) in the championship game of the Santa Barbara Bracket on Thursday, May 20, at noon pacific time. The winner will earn a spot in the Avista NAIA World Series.