A two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning and two insurance runs an inning later were the deciding factors as No. 5-seed Reinhardt University (Georgia) scored a 6-4 victory over No. 2 seed Georgia Gwinnett College in the winner's bracket final of the Avista NAIA World Series on Tuesday evening at Lewis-Clark State College's Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.

GGC (53-8) will play an elimination-round game against No. 4 seed Hope International University (California) on Wednesday, May 29, starting at 3:05 p.m. pacific time.

Luis Mendoza connected on the round tripper to give Reinhardt a 4-2 advantage. The lead grew to 6-2 in the eighth inning following a sacrifice fly from Tucker Zdunich and a run-scoring single by Dylan Lewis.

Those runs would become beneficial as the Grizzlies mounted a ninth-inning rally. Junior Henry Daniels hit a two-run single to right field with the bases loaded to trim the deficit to 6-4. A throwing error on Daniels' base hit allowed the potential tying run to reach second base with one out.

However, Reinhardt (44-16) starting pitcher Brett Allen got a strikeout and a fly out to end the threat in the complete-game effort.

Lewis gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning with a two-run homer to left center field.

Junior Braxton Meguiar quickly squared the contest, at 2-2, by connecting on a solo home run to right field in the top of the fifth inning.

The Grizzlies took advantage of two Reinhardt errors to plate the game's first run in the second inning with junior Jackson Cobb scoring from first base.
  Reinhardt hit a pair of two-run home runs, including a go-ahead round tripper in the bottom of the seventh inning. Luis Mendoza connected on a two-run homer over the left field fence to give the Eagles a 4-2 lead. The deficit grew to 6-2 before GGC plated a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning and had the potential game-tying run in scoring position. A strikeout and flyout ended the threat.
  Top of Second
Jackson Cobb scored following a throwing error to open the scoring
 
Bottom of Fourth
Dylan Lewis hit a two-run home run that gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead
 
Top of Fifth
Braxton Meguiar connected on a solo home run to right field that tied the contest, at 2-2
 
Bottom of Seventh
Luis Mendoza added a two-run homer to left field that regained the lead for the Eagles
 
Bottom of Eighth
Tucker Zdunich hit a sacrifice fly to left field
Dylan Lewis collected a run-scoring single that extended the lead to 6-2
 
Top of Ninth
Henry Daniels lined a two-run single to right field that trimmed the deficit to two runs, at 6-4
 

• Reinhardt outhit GGC by a 10-8 margin
• Senior Ajay Sczepkowski and junior Braxton Meguiar each collected two hits on Tuesday
• Senior pitcher Tyler Clayton struck out eight batters across seven innings
• Junior third baseman Paul Winland Jr. recorded three defensive assists

• GGC falls to 53-8 in 2024; Reinhardt improves to 44-16 on the season
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 2 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll; Reinhardt stood No. 9 in the same poll
• The team is the No. 2 seed in the Avista NAIA World Series bracket; Reinhardt stands as the No. 5 seed
• Tuesday's meeting was the first since 2021 between the two colleges

Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to play No. 4 seed Hope International University (California) in an elimination-round game at the Avista NAIA World Series on Wednesday, May 29, in Lewiston, Idaho, starting at 3:05 p.m. pacific time.