Six runs in the first inning and a complete-game pitching performance propelled the top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team to a 15-0 win Saturday against No. 4 seed Crowley's Ridge College (Arkansas) in the opening game of the 2021 Association of Independent Institutions championship tournament at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.

The Grizzlies (40-9) advanced to face No. 2 seed Fisher College (Massachusetts) in a winner's bracket contest on Sunday, May 9, at 11 a.m. Fisher defeated No. 3 seed Xavier University (Louisiana) 11-7 in Saturday's other first-round contest. The winner of that contest moves to the championship round on Monday, May 10, and clinches an automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament.

Junior Gabe Howell drove in four runs and freshman Chase Evans cleared the bases with a double during the big opening inning. Evans finished with four RBI in the victory.

Meanwhile, senior right hander Hunter Dollander struck out 13 batters to pick up his 10th win of the season with the shutout.

GGC took an early 2-0 lead on a two-run single from Howell. A few batters later, Evans delivered a three-run double to stretch the advantage to 6-0.

The tournament hosts added two runs in the second inning with a run-scoring double from junior Nick Barnes being the big hit of the frame. Two more runs came across in the fourth inning before the Grizzlies tallied five runs in the seventh inning.

Howell added a two-run double in the seventh inning and later scored on a bases-loaded walk to Barnes.

The Grizzlies tallied 15 hits in the contest, led by Howell's 3-for-5 performance. Those hits produced four RBI and he scored two runs. Five other GGC players recorded multiple-hit efforts to round a balanced offensive attack.

 

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: @GGCAthletics opened the A.I.I. Baseball Championship with a shutout win over @CRCPioneers. Video provided by the Grizzly Digital Network. pic.twitter.com/C135V0kIcC

— A.I.I. Sports (@AII_Sports) May 9, 2021

 
Key Plays
Top of First
Gabe Howell gave the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead with a two-run single
Chase Evans cleared the bases with a double to extend the lead to 6-0
 
Top of Second
Nick Barnes hit an RBI double to bring home Livingston Morris
 
Top of Seventh
Gabe Howell added a two-run double to stretch the advantage to 13-0
 
Inside The Numbers

• The Grizzlies outhit Crowley's Ridge by a 15-2 margin in the contest
• Senior pitcher Hunter Dollander struck out 13 batters
• Six different GGC players collected multiple-hit performances in the victory

News & Notes

• GGC improves to 40-9 on the season; Crowley's Ridge falls to 21-27 this spring
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 8 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll
• The team is the No. 1 seed in the A.I.I. Baseball Championship; Crowley's Ridge is the No. 4 seed
• Saturday's meeting marked the first contest in the series between the two colleges

Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to face No. 2 seed Fisher College (Massachusetts) on Sunday, May 9, at 11 a.m. in a winner's bracket contest from the Grizzly Baseball Complex.