The Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team split its Saturday home doubleheader against USC Beaufort (South Carolina), winning the opener 7-2 before dropping the nightcap 7-5 at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.

The Grizzlies (37-14) scored four runs with two outs in the opening inning to grab early momentum in the opener. Sophomore Chase Evans connected on a 415-foot two-run home run to center field for the final two runs of the frame.

Junior Jake Defries added a sacrifice fly in the second inning to extend the lead to 5-0. The hosts manufactured two more runs in the sixth inning from some small-ball offensive strategies. A sacrifice fly by senior J.D. Stubbs came before junior Myles McKisic scored following a wild pitch for GGC's seventh run of the contest.

The Sand Sharks (26-25) got a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning.

Senior starting pitcher Gavin Heltemes improved to 5-1 on the season by striking out five batters and allowing just four hits across 6.1 innings. Junior Sam Hunt tossed 2.2 scoreless innings in relief to help secure the victory.

In the second contest, a grand slam home run from USC Beaufort's Leandy Castro broke up a 2-2 deadlock in the seventh inning.

The Grizzlies mounted a rally of its own in the bottom half of the frame as senior Livingston Morris connected a two-run home run over the left field fence to trim the deficit in half, 6-4.

One inning later, things got even tighter, at 6-5, when a sacrifice fly to center field by senior J.D. Stubbs brought home McKisic.

However, USC Beaufort got an insurance run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning and reliever Tucker Perry retired GGC batters in order in the bottom of the ninth inning to record his sixth save of the season.
 
Turning Point
USC Beaufort's Leandy Castro connected on a grand slam home run over the left-center field fence in the top of the seventh inning to give the visiting Sand Sharks a 6-2 lead in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. That came after the Grizzlies had squared the contest, 2-2, on a run-scoring single from senior J.D. Stubbs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
Key Plays
First Game
Bottom of First
Austin Bates hit an infield single to first base to open the scoring
Chase Evans connected on a two-run home run to center field to cap GGC's four-run frame
 
Bottom of Second
Jake Defries added a sacrifice fly to stretch the lead to 5-0
 
Bottom of Sixth
J.D. Stubbs hit a sacrifice fly to center field
Myles McKisic scored on a wild pitch to give the Grizzlies a 7-0 lead
 
Second Game
Bottom of Second
Myles McKisic tied the game, 1-1, with a run-scoring single
 
Bottom of Sixth
J.D. Stubbs hit a run-scoring single to square the contest at 2-2
 
Top of Seventh
Leandy Castro hit a grand slam home run to give the Sand Sharks a 6-2 lead
 
Bottom of Seventh
Livingston Morris connected on a two-run home run to left field for GGC
 
Bottom of Eighth
J.D. Stubbs hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one run, 6-5
 
Inside The Numbers

• The Grizzlies tallied 19 hits across the doubleheader, with 12 hits coming in the nightcap
• Senior Livingston Morris hit his 14th home run of the season
• Junior Ryan Hunt successfully stole three bases in Saturday's doubleheader

News & Notes

• GGC is 37-14 on the season; USC Beaufort is 26-25 in 2022
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 11 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll
• The team leads the all-time series with the Sand Sharks by a 14-7 margin

Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to conclude the regular season with a doubleheader against Fisher College (Massachusetts) on Tuesday, May 3, from the Grizzly Baseball Complex, starting at 4 p.m.