Junior Caden Smith hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning to propel the No. 3-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team to an 11-8 victory over No. 20 Tennessee Wesleyan University on Friday afternoon in the opener of a three-game weekend series in Athens, Tennessee.

The Grizzlies (34-5), winners of 13 consecutive games, overcame a 7-5 deficit by scoring twice in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings.

GGC would tie the contest at 7-7 in the top of the sixth inning behind a run-scoring single from junior Braxton Meguiar and a sacrifice fly by junior Bryce Lesher.

One inning later, junior Joe Quelch drew a two-out walk before Smith connected on his sixth home run of the season. His round tripper gave the visitors a 9-7 lead that it would not relinquish.

"A lot of people will celebrate [Caden's] home run, but Joe's walk was really the key point of the game. We take great pride in commanding the zone. If there is an out left, we feel like we have a chance to score," said Head Coach Jeremy Sheetinger.

Smith wasn't done for the day. His two-run double to left field in the ninth inning extended the visitors' lead to three runs, at 11-8. The first baseman went 3-for-5, had five RBI and scored three runs.

GGC jumped out to an early 5-1 lead after plating four runs in the top of the second inning. Quelch opened the scoring with an RBI single. Junior Cohen Wilbanks executed a safety squeeze bunt for the third run of the frame. Senior Blaze O'Saben followed with a run-scoring single.

Senior Ajay Sczepkowski hit an infield RBI single in the fourth inning to stretch the lead to four runs, at 5-1.

Tennessee Wesleyan (26-14) responded with a six-run fourth inning. A pair of home runs were key elements of the comeback, with Blake Hubble's grand slam, with two outs, giving the Bulldogs a 7-5 lead.

GGC senior starting pitcher Gage Williams struck out eight batters across 7.2 innings to improve to 8-1 on the season. The right hander retired 12 straight batters before allowing a two-out home run in the bottom of the eighth inning that brought the hosts within a single run.

Williams became the first pitcher in program history to achieve 300 career strikeouts.

"Gage's ability to put zeros on the scoreboard allowed for our offense to take advantage of its moments," said Sheetinger on Williams' run of 12 consecutive outs.
  "We were challenged by a good team, while playing on the road, a couple of times in the game and our toughness came through. We dug our heels in during those challenging moments. I'm proud of how tough this group is and they definitely answered the bell today," said Head Coach Jeremy Sheetinger.
  Junior Caden Smith delivered two clutch hits late in the contest to propel the Grizzlies to a victory in the series opener. After a two-out walk to junior Joe Quelch kept the seventh inning alive, Smith connected on a two-run home run to give the visitors a 9-7 lead. He then added a two-run double in the ninth inning to extend the team's advantage to three runs, at 11-8.
  Top of Second
Joe Quelch hit a run-scoring single to left field that tied the contest at 1-1
Cohen Wilbanks hit a safety squeeze bunt to give the Grizzlies a 3-1 advantage
Blaze O'Saben followed with an RBI single up the middle that capped the four-run frame
 
Top of Fourth
Ajay Sczepkowski hit a single that brought home Caden Smith
 
Bottom of Fourth
Blake Hubble hit a grand slam with two outs that gave the Bulldogs a 7-5 lead
 
Top of Sixth
Braxton Meguiar hit an RBI single that cut the deficit to 7-6
Bryce Lesher added a sacrifice fly that scored Blaze O'Saben
 
Top of Seventh
Caden Smith connected on a two-run home run with two outs as the Grizzlies regained the lead, 9-7
 
Top of Ninth
Caden Smith brought in a pair of runs with a double to left field

• GGC outhit the Bulldogs by a 14-11 margin
• Juniors Joe Quelch and Caden Smith each scored three times on Friday
• Junior Tyler Martin recorded his first save of 2024 by retiring all four batters he faced in the relief appearance
• The Grizzlies legged out four doubles in the victory

• GGC improves to 34-5 this spring; Tennessee Wesleyan falls to 26-14 in 2024
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 3 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll announced on Wednesday, April 10; Tennessee Wesleyan stood No. 20 in the same poll
• The team has won its last five road games
• Senior Gage Williams became the first pitcher in program history to record 300 strikeouts in a career

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to conclude the weekend series against No. 20 Tennessee Wesleyan University with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 13, at Athens, Tennessee, starting at 1 p.m.