Georgia Gwinnett College junior Lea McFadden lined a walk-off single to center field in the Grizzlies' 7-6 come-from-behind extra-inning victory against Cottey College (Missouri) on Friday afternoon in the 2022 Continental Athletic Conference Softball Championship at the Grizzly Softball Complex.

The top-seeded Grizzlies (34-18) have advanced to the tournament's championship round on Saturday, May 7, starting at noon. It was the team's eighth walk-off victory of the season.

McFadden went 3-for-5 for the day and drove in four runs for the Grizzlies, including tallies that tied the game, putting the game into extra inning, and then the eventual game-winner.

With the game tied at 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning, GGC completed the comeback with freshman Angelica Gallegos leading off with a single and moving to second base on a fly out. McFadden then had her game-winning effort with a walk-off single.

"I was looking for a pitch to drive and get it to the outfield in order to score Angelica (Gallegos). I was seeing the ball really well today and I am glad to come through for the team," said McFadden about her key hits.

Cottey (28-14), the tournament's No. 2 seed, seemed to be in command after scoring six runs in the top of the second inning to take an early lead. Alyssa Montoya gave the Comets a 3-1 lead with a bases-clearing triple. Karina Ramirez followed with an infield run-scoring single before Lacey Cruz was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score the final run of the team's big offensive inning.

However, GGC proved to have an answer. Sophomore Josie Haulk hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score sophomore Lani Trent in the bottom half of the second inning. A few batters later, in a bases-loaded situation, senior Piper Wagner lined a single to center field that brought home a pair of runs to trim the deficit to 6-4.

McFadden delivered her first clutch at-bat of the contest in the fourth inning with a game-tying two-run single to right field.

Junior relief pitcher Alexa Good, who entered in the second inning, tossed 7.2 scoreless innings and recorded eight strikeouts. The right hander allowed just two hits to earn the victory. Good got a strikeout to strand Cottey's potential go-ahead run at second base in the seventh inning, keeping the two teams deadlocked at 6-6.
  "It was another all-around team effort today. The girls gave great effort throughout the game. Alexa (Good) kept us in the game and our offense put good at bats together to get back into the game," said Head Coach Kat Ihlenburg.

 

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: @GGCAthletics wins a thrilling contest over @CotteyAthletics 7-6 in extra innings. Grizzlies advance to Saturday's championship round and earn a bid to the NAIA national tournament. Video courtesy of the Grizzly Digital Network.#CAC_Softball pic.twitter.com/WBpRzqpeoV

— Continental Athletics (@CAC_SportsNAIA) May 6, 2022

  The middle of GGC's lineup contributed significantly to Friday's come-from-behind effort. Junior Lea McFadden tied the contest at 6-6 with a two-run single to right field in the fourth inning. Then, in the ninth inning, freshman Angelica Gallegos, batting second in GGC's lineup, opened the frame with a single up the middle. Gallegos then advanced into scoring position following a fly out to right field by senior Piper Wagner. McFadden followed by drilling a line drive up the middle that scored Gallegos and sent the top-seeded Grizzlies into Saturday's championship round.
  Bottom of First
Lea McFadden opened the scoring with an RBI double down the left field line
 
Top of Second
Alyssa Montoya lined a bases-clearing triple to give the Comets a 3-1 lead
Karina Ramirez hit a run-scoring single to shortstop
Lacey Cruz was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to cap the team's six-run frame
 
Bottom of Second
Josie Haulk hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Lani Trent
Piper Wagner added a two-run single to center field to cut the deficit to 6-4
 
Bottom of Fourth
Lea McFadden tied the game, 6-6, with a two-run single to right field
 
Bottom of Ninth
Lea McFadden lined a single up the middle to score Angelica Gallegos from second base for the game-winning run
 

• Cottey outhit the Grizzlies by a 10-8 margin in the contest
• Junior Alexa Good recorded eight strikeouts in 7.2 scoreless innings of relief pitching, surpassing the 500-strikeout plateau for her career
• Junior Lea McFadden went 3-for-5 and drove in four of the Grizzlies' seven runs
• GGC had three doubles in the game

• GGC improves to 34-18 this spring; Cottey drops to 28-14 on the season
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 12 in the latest 2022 NAIA Top 25 poll; Cottey received votes in the same poll
• GGC is the top seed in the 2022 Continental Athletic Conference Softball Championship tournament; Cottey was the No. 2 seed
• The team has won four straight conference tournaments (formally the Association of Independent Institutions)

Georgia Gwinnett College has advanced to the championship round of the 2022 Continental Athletic Conference Softball Championship tournament. Games in the double-elimination tournament are scheduled for Saturday, May 7, with the first outing starting at noon from the Grizzly Softball Complex. If necessary, a second game will follow in the afternoon.