A trio of home runs in each game propelled the No. 5-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team to a doubleheader sweep Saturday afternoon and capture the weekend series against No. 14 Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Grizzlies (31-5) won the day's first game 7-2 before coming back with a 7-6 victory in the second contest. This came after the Wolf Pack (24-12) opened the series with a Friday night victory.

GGC came out determined to make a statement in Saturday's doubleheader. The team connected on three solo home runs in the opener before home runs produced all seven runs in the series-deciding game.

Junior Devin Warner hit a solo home run in the top of the second inning of the first game to give the visitors their first lead of the series.

One inning later, junior Jon Ponder connected on a home run before sophomore Joe Quelch hit a run-scoring single to build a 3-0 advantage.

The Grizzlies scored three unearned runs in the fifth inning with two runs coming following an error in an at-bat from sophomore Brett Dingess.

Junior Cohen Wilbanks capped the team's power surge in the opener with a homer, his second of the season, during the seventh inning.

Meanwhile, sophomore pitcher Cameron Repetti struck out five batters in a complete-game performance that improved his record to 6-0 on the season.

In the second game, Quelch connected on a pair of two-run homers to highlight the team's eight-hit offensive attack. His first round tripper gave GGC a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning. Then, Quelch hit another go-ahead homer in the sixth inning to give the Grizzlies a 4-3 lead.

Sophomore Caden Smith hit the team's sixth home run of the day, a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning that gave the team key insurance runs for a 7-3 advantage.

Those runs would be necessary as Loyola hit a solo home run and a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to cut GGC's lead to 7-6. Senior reliever Garrett Houston closed out the game with a strikeout to secure the victory.

Senior reliever Jonathan Haab recorded 11 strikeouts across five strong innings to pick up the victory. The right hander entered the game in the fourth inning and allowed just two hits while limiting the Wolf Pack to one run in picking up his second win of the season.

"I trusted my team and the defense behind me and wanted to fill up the strike zone," said Haab on his relief appearance. "This (second) game says a lot about the type of team we have and its resolve. Cameron (Repetti) set the tone for the day for our pitching staff.

GGC's pitching staff tallied 18 strikeouts in Saturday's second game.
  "We responded in the right way after Friday's game. We learned what type of team we have by winning a series against a really good team on the road. Cameron's performance was the key by going the distance in the first game. Joe (Quelch) did a great job of taking what was given to him. One of his (two) home runs came with two outs. However, we don't win the game or the series without the effort by Jonathan (Haab) in a strong relief role," said Head Coach Jeremy Sheetinger.
  GGC players flexed their muscles by hitting three home runs in each game to sweep the doubleheader. Junior Devin Warner connected on a solo home run in the second inning before juniors Jon Ponder and Cohen Wilbanks followed with solo homers in the third and seventh innings, respectively, to win the opener. Then, in capturing the series finale, sophomore Joe Quelch hit a pair of two-run home runs followed by a three-run blast by sophomore Caden Smith in the ninth inning.
  First Game
Top of Second
Devin Warner connected on a solo home run
 
Top of Third
Jon Ponder hit a solo home run
Joe Quelch added a run-scoring single to left field that gave the Grizzlies a 3-0 lead
 
Top of Fifth
Brett Dingess reached following a fielding error that allowed two runs to score on the play
 
Top of Seventh
Cohen Wilbanks hit a solo home run to extend the lead to five runs, 7-2
 
Second Game
Top of Fourth
Joe Quelch connected on a two-run home run to center field that gave GGC a 2-1 advantage
 
Top of Sixth
Joe Quelch hit his second two-run homer of the game as the Grizzlies regained the lead, 4-3
 
Top of Ninth
Caden Smith connected on a three-run home run to put the team ahead 7-3
 

• The Grizzlies tallied 17 hits in the doubleheader sweep, led by nine hits in the first contest
• Junior Jon Ponder extended his hitting streak to 24 games with two hits in the opener and one hit in the second game
• The Grizzlies hit three home runs in each game to now have 56 homers for the season
• Senior Jonathan Haab struck out 11 batters in a five-inning middle relief effort

• GGC improves to 31-5 on the season, while Loyola drops to 24-12 this spring
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 5 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll; Loyola stood No. 14 in the same poll
• GGC won two of the three games in the weekend series to lead the all-time series by a 6-1 margin
• The Grizzlies are 5-1 on the road this season

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to travel to USC Beaufort on Friday, April 7, at Hardeeville, South Carolina, starting at 6 p.m.