The No. 10-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College softball team completed a successful midweek road trip after splitting a doubleheader Wednesday afternoon at No. 21 College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick, Georgia.

The Grizzlies (31-8) picked up a 4-0 victory in the nightcap to rebound from dropping the first game 4-2. The team went 3-1 during the road trip after sweeping USC Beaufort on Tuesday.

In what is becoming a customary occurrence, sophomore pitcher Annalise Wood was spectacular inside the circle in the second game. She struck out 16 batters, including eight straight in the middle innings of the two-hit shutout – her ninth of the season. Wood retired the final 16 batters she faced to improve her record to 16-1 and surpassed the 200-strikeout plateau for the season.

Offensively, freshman Enna Lackey put the visitors on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning of the second game with a two-out RBI double that scored junior Logan Oller from first base.

One inning later, junior Kloey Goins had a sacrifice fly to right field for a 2-0 GGC advantage. The team pushed across two more runs in the sixth frame. Lackey once again produced a run with a single and a subsequent throwing error allowed junior Kendall Parks to scamper home with another tally to the scoreboard. Junior Josie Haulk added a run-scoring single later in the inning.

The Grizzlies tallied 12 hits in the victory.

In the opener, Coastal Georgia's Malarie Peacock connected on a two-run home run to left field to break a 2-2 tie in the fifth inning. The round tripper came just after the Grizzlies had tied the contest on Haulk's RBI single up the middle that scored freshman Madison Rodgers. Sophomore Lindzie Owen had a run-scoring double in the fourth inning to cut the host's lead to 2-1.

Kayla Rowell hit a two-run home run in the second inning to give Coastal Georgia an early 2-0 lead.

Owen paced GGC's offensive attack for the day, going 4-for-5 with a pair of stolen bases. She had a 2-for-2 performance and two steals in the second contest.

Lackey drove in a pair of runs and was 2-for-3 in the second contest. Senior Lea McFadden, Haulk and Oller each had two hits for the Grizzlies in Wednesday's finale.
  "We knew we would be facing good competition as Coastal Georgia had been 14-0 at home entering today. Good teams bounce back and that's what we did in the second game, when we played much better and were able to manufacture some runs when we did threaten (to score). Annalise (Wood) has a bulldog mentality and thrives in competitive situations. She doesn't give in and was outstanding for us once again," said Head Coach Kat Ihlenburg.
  Sophomore pitcher Annalise Wood set a positive tone for the Grizzlies in the second game, registering five strikeouts throughout the first two innings. However, the right hander was just warming up. Wood proceeded to strike out eight consecutive batters beginning with the last out of the second inning through the leadoff batter in the fifth frame. She finished by retiring the final 16 batters against No. 21 Coastal Georgia.
  First Game
Bottom of Second
Kayla Rowell connected on a two-run home run to give Coastal Georgia an early 2-0 lead
 
Top of Fourth
Lindzie Owen hit a run-scoring double to left field that brought home Sydney Pelaez
 
Top of Fifth
Josie Haulk tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single up the middle
 
Bottom of Fifth
Malarie Peacock hit a two-run home run to left field that gave the Mariners a 4-2 lead
 
Second Game
Top of Fourth
Enna Lackey lined an RBI double to left field that scored Logan Oller from first base
 
Top of Fifth
Kloey Goins hit a sacrifice fly to right field as the Grizzlies took a 2-0 lead
 
Top of Sixth
Enna Lackey hit a single and a throwing error on the play allowed Kendall Parks to score
Josie Haulk added a run-scoring single for the second run of the frame
 

• The Grizzlies had 12 of their 18 hits in the second game
• Sophomore Lindzie Owen went 4-for-5 and stole two bases in Wednesday's games
• Sophomore pitcher Annalise Wood struck out 16 batters in the shutout, marking the sixth time this season she has tallied 15 or more strikeouts in a game
• GGC's three stolen bases across the doubleheader increased the team's total to 103 steals for the season

• GGC stands 31-8 on the season, while Coastal Georgia is 28-8 in 2023
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 10 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll; Coastal Georgia stood No. 21 in the same poll
• Georgia Gwinnett College leads the series 14-7 and won three of the four games in the season series after sweeping a doubleheader in Lawrenceville on February 19
• The team is 7-1 on the road this season

Georgia Gwinnett College's road trip is scheduled to continue at Truett-McConnell University (Georgia) for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 15, from Cleveland, Georgia, starting at 2 p.m.