The top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College softball team scored 10 runs over the final two innings to defeat No. 3-seeded Crowley's Ridge College (Arkansas) 14-0 Friday afternoon to advance to the championship round of the 2023 Continental Athletic Conference Softball Championship.

GGC (39-9) will play No. 4 USC Beaufort for the CAC title on Saturday, May 6, from the Grizzly Softball Complex, starting at noon.

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

Senior Sydney Pelaez connected on a two-run home run to right field to give the top-seeded Grizzlies a quick 2-0 first-inning lead. The round tripper marked the 20th of her career and tied her career-high with six homers in a season.

The tournament hosts took advantage of a dropped fly ball in the outfield with two outs to score two unearned runs one inning later.

The Grizzlies broke the game open behind a four-run third inning before pushing six additional runs across the plate during the fourth inning.

Freshman Madison Rodgers lined an RBI single to right-center field to jumpstart the third inning run production. Classmate Enna Lackey added a run-scoring single before sophomore Lindzie Owen drove in a pair of runs with a single to center field as the lead grew to 8-0.

In the fourth inning, sophomore Emerson Hall hit an RBI ground out to second base to bring home GGC's 11th run of the contest. Owen collected her second two-run single of the contest. The designated player went 3-for-3 with four RBI and scored two runs to highlight the Grizzlies' 10-hit offensive attack.

Rodgers scored three times and drew a pair of walks. Seven of GGC's nine starting players in the lineup tallied a hit in the contest.

Senior pitcher Alexa Good tossed her fifth shutout of the 2023 season. The right hander struck out five batters and allowed just two hits across five innings to improve to 10-4 on the season. Good stands 5-1 all-time in conference postseason action.

 

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: @GGCAthletics scores 10 runs over the final two innings to advance to Saturday's championship round. Video courtesy of @GDN_Production.#CACSoftball pic.twitter.com/1BNKWJcsM0

— Continental Athletics (@CAC_SportsNAIA) May 5, 2023

  "We are really playing well as a team right now. Several players continue to contribute to our success. It is nice to see runs were scored with two outs. That has been a hallmark of our season," said Head Coach Kat Ihlenburg.
  GGC punched its ticket to the championship round and secured an automatic bid from the Continental Athletic Conference to the NAIA Opening Round with Friday's victory. The Grizzlies scored four runs in the third inning with two outs to stretch their lead to 8-0. Freshman Madison Rodgers produced a two-out RBI single before freshman Enna Lackey and sophomore Lindzie Owen tallied back-to-back run-scoring singles.
  Bottom of First
Sydney Pelaez connected on a two-run home run to right field for her 20th career round tripper
 
Bottom of Third
Madison Rodgers hit a run-scoring single that brought home Kayla Good
Enna Lackey added an RBI single to give GGC a 6-0 lead
Lindzie Owen capped a four-run frame with a two-run single to center field
 
Bottom of Fourth
Kendall Parks stole third base and came around to score following a throwing error on the play
Emerson Hall hit an RBI ground out to second base to plate the team's 11th run of the contest
Kendall Parks collected a run-scoring single up the middle
 

• The Grizzlies outhit Crowley's Ridge by a 10-2 margin
• Senior pitcher Alexa Good recorded her 10th win of the season inside the circle
• GGC successfully stole eight bases
• Senior Sydney Pelaez hit her 20th career home run

• GGC improves to 39-9 in 2023, while Crowley's Ridge ended the 2023 season with a 19-16 record
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 8 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll
• GGC was the No. 1 seed in the 2023 Continental Athletic Conference Softball Championship; Crowley's Ridge stood as the No. 3 seed
• The team has won the last five conference tournament titles

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to face No. 4 seed USC Beaufort in championship round of the 2023 Continental Athletic Conference Softball Championship on Saturday, May 6, from the Grizzly Softball Complex, starting at noon.