Timely hitting and strong pitching were the winning combination as the No. 2-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College softball team advanced to the championship round of the NAIA Opening Round Lawrenceville Bracket with a 2-0 victory over top-seeded Eastern Oregon University on Wednesday morning at the Grizzly Softball Complex.

Junior Annalise Jarvis tossed her second shutout of NAIA postseason play to help propel the Grizzlies to the victory. The right hander recorded five of her seven strikeouts in the first two innings, and before a 25-minute rain delay.

Afterwards, Jarvis continued to hold the Mountaineers (39-9) in check, allowing just two singles to complete her 10th shutout of the season.

"Eastern Oregon is one of the best teams in the country. I knew where I could not miss against their hitters. It was a total team effort. The defense was outstanding today and I kept the ball down in the zone," said Jarvis.

Eastern Oregon was shut out for only the third time this season.

Meanwhile, GGC (31-15) manufactured single runs in the top of the fourth and fifth innings while outhitting Eastern Oregon by a 4-3 margin in the contest.

Junior Makenna Talcott hit a run-scoring single up the middle to open the scoring in the fourth inning. She tallied two hits and drew a walk in her three plate appearances on the day.

"We have focused throughout the postseason on hitting the top half of the ball and hitting hard ground balls. Putting the ball on the ground forces the defense to make a play. Eventually you will find a hole to score a run," said Talcott on her important at-bat in the fourth inning.

Senior Kloey Goins added a key insurance run in the fifth inning, with a sacrifice fly to center field scoring junior Angelica Gallegos. That gave the Grizzlies a 2-0 advantage that withstood the next two innings.

GGC's defense recorded 13 fly ball outs, led by senior left fielder Logan Oller collecting three putouts.
  "You want to take advantage of situations with runners on base. We're not trying to do too much in those situations and just letting the game happen. The team is celebrating those little successes that manufacture runs. We executed up and down the lineup today," said Head Coach Kat Ihlenburg.
  The Grizzlies received strong pitching and defensive performances for the second straight NAIA postseason game. The team utilized clutch hitting to manufacture a single run in consecutive innings to score Wednesday's victory. Junior Makenna Talcott hit a two-out RBI single up the middle to open the scoring. She had two hits and reached base all three times in the triumph.
 
Key Plays
Top of Fourth
Makenna Talcott hit a run-scoring single up the middle that brought home Haley Robinson
 
Top of Fifth
Kloey Goins tallied a sacrifice fly to center field that extended the lead to 2-0
 

• The Grizzlies outhit Eastern Oregon by a 4-3 margin
• Junior Annalise Jarvis registered her 10th shutout of the season
• Junior Makenna Talcott went 2-for-2 and reached base all three times in Wednesday's game
• Fly outs resulted in 13 of the 21 outs in the game

• GGC improves to 31-15 on the season; Eastern Oregon stands 39-9 in 2024
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 13 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll of the 2024 regular season; Eastern Oregon stood No. 10 in the same poll
• The team is the No. 2 seed in the five-team Lawrenceville Bracket; Eastern Oregon was the No. 1 seed
• Wednesday's meeting marked the first match up between the two colleges

Georgia Gwinnett College faces Eastern Oregon University once again in the championship round of the NAIA Opening Round Lawrenceville Bracket on Thursday, May 16, at the Grizzly Softball Complex. A game between the two teams is scheduled to start at noon. If needed, another game will be added to the day's schedule of the double-elimination tournament. One win by the Grizzlies on Thursday would clinch the program's fourth trip to the NAIA World Series.