The No. 2-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team collected its 40th win of the 2024 season with a weekend series-opening 13-2 victory against Continental Athletic Conference opponent Fisher College (Massachusetts) Friday afternoon in a game played on Appalachian State University's diamond in Boone, North Carolina.

The Grizzlies (40-6) scored in five of their six offensive innings.

Senior Blaze O'Saben paced the team's 12-hit offensive attack by going 4-for-5, with four runs scored and four runs batted in. He connected on a three-run homer for his 12th stadium-clearing smash of the season that was part of a five-run sixth inning.

Meanwhile, senior starting pitcher Gage Williams broke two program records: the single-season strikeout mark (109) and career victories (29). The right hander struck out seven Falcons in tossing the complete game to improve to 10-1 on the season. Williams' strikeout total broke Nikolay Uherek's mark from the 2017 season. His 29th career victory moved past Hunter Dollander, who had 28 victories from the 2018-21 seasons.

"Gage has worked extremely hard to get to this point. I'm super happy that he was able to break two records today. Nikolay and Hunter are two legendary names within our program. Gage has put together a phenomenal career and his best baseball is still in front of him," said Head Coach Jeremy Sheetinger.

GGC took the lead for good, at 4-2, by scoring three runs in the bottom of the second inning. O'Saben hit a run-scoring single to center field before stealing home for the go-ahead run.

Junior Cohen Wilbanks added an RBI single in the fifth inning before classmate Braxton Meguiar had a triple that scored junior Peyton Peoples.

One inning later, junior Joe Quelch opened the big offensive frame with a sacrifice fly. A throwing error allowed junior Brett Dingess to score before O'Saben's three-run blast over the left field fence.

 

Grizzly of the Day: Gage Williams vs. Fisher (Mass.).#GGCAthletics | #GrizGangGGC pic.twitter.com/mqt2v2KOsD

— GGC Baseball (@GGC_Baseball) April 26, 2024

  "It took us a couple of innings to get settled in, but then it was a pretty impressive performance. Our program has high standards and expectations. Winning 40 regular-season games is a good number to achieve. The beauty is that we're not done yet and have more games to play and more wins to add," said Head Coach Jeremy Sheetinger.
  The Grizzlies put runs on the scoreboard in five of the six innings to win Friday's series opener. The team took the lead for good, at 4-2, behind a three-run second inning. Senior Blaze O'Saben hit a run-scoring single before successfully stealing home for the go-ahead run. O'Saben would later put the game out of reach with his 12th homer of the season. It was part of a five-run sixth inning.
  Bottom of First
Blaze O'Saben scored from second base following Fisher's second error of the inning
 
Bottom of Second
Blaze O'Saben lined an RBI single to center field that tied the contest, at 2-2
Blaze O'Saben stole home on the backend of a double steal attempt
A fielding error allowed Ajay Sczepkowski to score and extended the lead to 4-2
 
Bottom of Fourth
Henry Daniels hit a sacrifice fly to score Blaze O'Saben
 
Bottom of Fifth
Braxton Meguiar legged out a triple to score the second of two runs in the frame, giving GGC an 8-2 lead
 
Bottom of Sixth
Blaze O'Saben connected on a three-run home run to give the Grizzlies the final 13-2 advantage
 

• The Grizzlies outhit Fisher by a 12-7 margin
• Senior Blaze O'Saben went 4-for-5 with four RBI and scored four runs on Friday
• GGC successfully stole five bases in the victory
• Junior Brett Dingess had two assists from shortstop

• GGC improves to 40-6 in 2024; Fisher drops to 24-24 on the season
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 2 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll, announced on Wednesday, April 24
• The team has a 36-1 record against Fisher in the all-time series
• Senior Gage Williams broke the single-season strikeout record with 109 strikeouts and career wins record with 29 victories
• GGC and Fisher are members of the Continental Athletic Conference

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to conclude the series against Fisher College (Massachusetts) with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 27, at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, starting at 1 p.m.