The newly anointed No. 5-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team recorded its 13th straight win of the season with an 8-3 victory against Madonna University (Michigan) on Wednesday afternoon at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.
Junior
Ajay Sczepkowski opened the team's scoring with a three-run homer in the third inning. It was the left fielder's second consecutive game with a home run and third blast over the fence in his last five at-bats. He hit a pair of home runs during Tuesday's victory against Madonna.
Madonna (6-8) got within a run, 4-3, in the top of the fifth inning after a run-scoring single from Matt Staelgrae and a GGC throwing error allowed an additional run to touch home plate.
GGC (19-2) scored a key insurance run in the sixth inning when a throwing error on an infield base hit from sophomore
Kyle Norton allowed sophomore
Brett Dingess to score from first base. Three more runs were added to the scoreboard in the eighth inning to secure the victory. Norton legged out his second double of the contest to score Dingess.
Norton led GGC's 10-hit offensive attack by going 4-for-4 at the plate. Junior
Jon Ponder and Sczepkowski each collected two hits in the victory.
Six pitchers combined to limit Madonna to just six hits in the nine-inning contest. Senior relievers
Jaelin Sewell,
Garrett Houston and
Jonathan Haab held the Crusaders hitless over the final three innings.
Senior starting pitcher
Antonio Buckley scattered two hits and struck out three batters across three scoreless innings to pick up the victory.
"After allowing 23 runs yesterday, we knew that [Madonna] would come back with a good effort against us today. We got some gutsy performances out of our bullpen in a strong midweek effort," said
Jeremy Sheetinger.
Strong bullpen performances led Georgia Gwinnett College to Wednesday's home win, with senior relievers of
Jaelin Sewell,
Garrett Houston and
Jonathan Haab preventing Madonna from getting a hit after the sixth inning. That also allowed the Grizzlies to add four insurance runs in the sixth (one run) and eighth (three runs) inning after Madonna had closed the gap to 4-3 in the top of the fifth frame.
Bottom of Third
Ajay Sczepkowski connected on a three-run home run to left field
Bottom of Fourth
Cohen Wilbanks laid down a safety squeeze bunt to give the Grizzlies a 4-1 lead
Bottom of Eighth
Kyle Norton lined a run-scoring double to bring home
Brett Dingess to cap a three-run inning
- The Grizzlies outhit Madonna by a 10-6 margin in the game and 27-12 in the two-game midweek series
- Sophomore Kyle Norton went 4-for-4 and legged out two doubles
- Junior Ajay Sczepkowski hit his third homer of the series with a three-run home run in the third inning; he had three homers across a stretch of five at-bats
- GGC turned three double plays in the contest
- GGC improves to 19-2 on the season; Madonna drops to 6-8 in 2023
- The Grizzlies were ranked No. 5 in the first NAIA Top 25 poll of the regular season, released Wednesday by the national office
- The team has won 13 straight games
- GGC leads the series 10-3 with Madonna
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to host the inaugural Continental Athletic Conference Invitational this weekend at the Grizzly Baseball Complex. The team will have games on Friday, March 10, against Iowa Wesleyan University, starting at 3 p.m., and Fisher College (Massachusetts), at 6 p.m.
