The No. 3-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team capped a dominating performance in this weekend's Continental Athletic Conference Showdown with a 18-1 victory against Florida National University on Sunday afternoon at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.

The Grizzlies (36-5) outscored their three CAC opponents by a 62-7 margin.

Besides the strong offensive performance, the team also shined on the pitcher's mound. Junior starting pitcher Gage Williams helped set the tone for Sunday by recording 11 strikeouts and scattering three hits across six innings to improve his record to 6-1 on the season. The right hander retired the first nine batters he faced in the commendable outing.

Setting the pace at the plate, GGC scored three runs in the second inning and plated four additional runs one inning later to build a commanding 7-0 advantage.

Senior Blaze O'Saben lined a two-run double down the left field line to cap the run production in the second inning. Then, juniors Ajay Sczepkowski and Devin Warner delivered extra-base hits to score a run as part of the third inning.

Junior Jon Ponder led off the fourth inning with a home run. The center fielder's round tripper extended his hitting streak to a program-record 28 straight games, breaking the previous record held by Cam Coursey during the 2019 campaign. Ponder later added an RBI double in the fifth inning and had a single to finish the day 3-for-5 at the plate and scoring three runs.

Sophomore Braxton Meguiar hit an RBI double during the fourth inning before junior Jesus Pacheco collected an RBI ground out to shortstop as GGC pushed five runs across in the fourth inning.

The hosts added four runs in the fifth inning and scored twice during the sixth inning.

Meguiar paced the team's 17-hit offensive attack by going 3-for-3 and scoring four runs. O'Saben also tallied three hits in the victory, with two RBI and a pair of runs scored. Warner legged out a pair of triples as part of a three-hit performance. Sczepkowski scored three times and was 2-for-2 in the victory.


  "We wanted to continue to establish dominance in our conference. We never take anything for granted and if we are in a league our goal is to sit atop that league. I give a lot of credit to our players for accomplishing exactly what we set out to do," said Head Coach Jeremy Sheetinger.
  GGC scored runs in bunches during the Continental Athletic Conference Showdown, tallying 12 runs against Crowley's Ridge College (Arkansas) on Friday and adding a program record 32 runs against Voorhees University (South Carolina) on Saturday. Then on Sunday, the Grizzlies scored multiple runs in their final five offensive innings, highlighted by a five-run fourth inning to tally 18 runs. In total, GGC outscored its three opponents by a 62 -7 margin during the weekend.
  Bottom of Second
Jesus Pacheco hit an infield single to first base to open the scoring
Blaze O'Saben lined a two-run double down the left field line
 
Bottom of Third
Ajay Sczepkowski hit an RBI double to left field that gave GGC a 4-0 lead
Devin Warner hustled for a triple that brought home Ajay Sczepkowski
 
Bottom of Fourth
Jon Ponder led off the frame with a home run to left field that extended his hitting streak to a program record 28 consecutive games
Braxton Meguiar hit a run-scoring double
Kyle Norton and Ajay Sczepkowski each stole third and second bases respectively, but a throwing error trying to get Norton out allowed for both to eventually score
Jesus Pacheco hit an RBI ground out to shortstop that capped a five-run inning
 
Bottom of Fifth
Jon Ponder lined a run-scoring double off the wall in right field
Devin Warner hit a triple to center field that brought home Braxton Meguiar and give the Grizzlies a 16-0 advantage
 

• The Grizzlies outhit Florida National by a 17-3 margin
• Junior Gage Williams had 11 strikeouts in picking up his sixth victory of the season
• Sophomore Braxton Meguiar went 3-for-3 and scored four runs on Sunday
• GGC successfully stole 10 bases to bring its total to 187 for the season (on 215 attempts – 87% success rate)

• GGC improves to 36-5 on the season, while Florida National falls to 13-14 this spring
• The Grizzlies were tied for No. 3 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll
• Junior Jon Ponder set a program record by collecting a hit in 28 straight games when he led off the fourth inning with a homer
• GGC outscored the three opponents during the CAC Showdown by a 62-7 margin
• The team is 8-0 against CAC opponents this spring

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to travel to Talladega College (Alabama) on Tuesday, April 18, in Talladega, Alabama, starting at 3 p.m.