The No. 7-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball players smashed five home runs as the team used different ways to collect a pair of victories Saturday afternoon at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.

First, junior Jon Ponder led off the seventh inning with a walk-off home run to left field in a 7-6 triumph against Clarke University (Iowa) in a back-and-forth affair. Then, three round trippers powered a 24-2 triumph over Lourdes University (Ohio).

The Grizzlies (16-2) have now won 10 straight games – five of which have come by putting double-digit run totals on the scoreboard.

Junior Devin Warner connected on a two-run home run in the day's first game to give the hosts a 4-3 lead.

However, Clarke (7-6) answered with a two-run homer from Bubba Thompson to regain the lead, 5-4, in the top of the fifth inning.

Then it was Grizzlies' turn for a response, coming with a pair of clutch at-bats with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. With two outs and two strikes in the count, junior Cohen Wilbanks hit an RBI double to tie the game. A fielding error during the next at bat allowed senior Ryan Hunt to score the go-ahead run at 6-5. Wilbanks earlier provided a two-run double in the second inning.

The Pride once again answered by scoring the tying run on a wild pitch in the top of the seventh frame.

That set the scene for junior Jon Ponder to lead off the bottom of the seventh with a walk-off homer over the left field fence to cap the dramatic victory. He went 3-for-4 in the contest.

In the second game, GGC tallied 22 hits to score a season-high 24 runs in a game. Warner connected on his second two-run homer of the day as part of GGC's seven-run first inning. He leads the team with eight home runs and has smashed a home run in four consecutive games.

Adding two-run round trippers were sophomores Kyle Norton and Braxton Meguair as the lead grew to 13-2.

Sophomore Caden Smith contributed to the offensive attack by going 4-for-6 and driving in four runs. Senior Blaze O'Saben, Meguiar and Norton each added three hits.

Pitching victories came from senior Jonathan Haab, who had five strikeouts in 1.2 innings in the first game, while sophomore Spencer Rife struck out six opposing batters across 4.2 scoreless innings in the nightcap. It was the first win of the season for both and Rife's first as a Grizzly.


  "Games against Clarke are always tough. These games don't always give you what you want, but what you need. We needed a game where we had to keep answering back. That once again shows the resiliency and toughness within this group," said Jeremy Sheetinger.
  GGC and Clarke traded shifts of momentum throughout the first game of the day, with the hosts having the final answer in a 7-6 victory. The Grizzlies had a 6-5 lead in the sixth inning before the Iowa team took advantage of a wild pitch to tie the game in the top of the seventh frame. Then, junior Jon Ponder provided the final heroics with a walk-off home run to left field in the home half of the seventh inning for the dramatic victory.
  Clarke Game
Bottom of Second
Cohen Wilbanks tied the game, 2-2, with a two-run double
 
Bottom of Third
Devin Warner connected on a two-run home run to give the Grizzlies a 4-3 lead
 
Top of Fifth
Bubba Thompson hit a two-run home run to give Clarke a 5-4 advantage
 
Bottom of Sixth
Cohen Wilbanks delivered a two-out RBI double to tie the game
Jesus Pacheco reached on a fielding error to allow Ryan Hunt to score for a 6-5 GGC lead
 
Bottom of Seventh
Jon Ponder opened the frame with a walk-off home run to left field
 
Lourdes Game
Bottom of First
Devin Warner hit his second two-run homer of the day to give GGC a 3-0 lead
Blaze O'Saben followed with a run-scoring single
Kyle Norton lined an RBI single to bring home Drew Stubbs
Kyle Norton scored on a wild pitch to give the Grizzlies a 7-0 lead
 
Bottom of Second
Kyle Norton connected on a two-run home run
Braxton Meguiar added a two-run home run to extend the lead to 13-2
 
Bottom of Fourth
Caden Smith drove in a pair of runs with a single
Blaze O'Saben hit an RBI single to score the team's 18th run
 
Bottom of Sixth
Sebastian Lopez-Perez hit a two-run double to score GGC's 21st and 22nd run
 

• The Grizzlies collected 30 hits across Saturday's two games, highlighted by a season-high 22 hits against Lourdes
• GGC combined to hit five home runs in the two victories
• Junior Jon Ponder went 5-for-7 on the day and had the walk-off home run against Clarke
• The team registered five stolen bases in the Lourdes victory

• GGC improves to 16-2 on the season; Clarke drops to 7-6 this spring; Lourdes stands 2-4 in 2023
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 7 in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 poll
• The team has won all six meetings in the series with Clarke and has a 5-0 lead against Lourdes
• Junior Devin Warner has hit a home run in four consecutive games

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to conclude the weekend with a single nine-inning game against Lourdes University (Ohio) on Sunday, March 5, at the Grizzly Baseball Complex, starting at 1 p.m.