Eight first inning runs opened the way for the No. 3-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team to cruise to a 14-2 victory over the University of Tennessee Southern in Friday night's Military Appreciation Day game at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.

GGC (25-3) outhit the Firehawks (9-20) by a commanding 12-5 margin, with the top three hitters in the team's lineup going 7-for-11 in the contest.

Senior Paul Winland Jr. hit a two-run double to right-center field to give the hosts a quick 4-0 advantage. Senior Jon Ponder later followed his second hit of the opening frame, with a triple plating the team's seventh run of the contest.

Senior Braxton Meguiar then cleared the bases with a double in the third inning to extend GGC's lead to 11-0.

This early offense was plenty of support for senior right hander Ben Harris, who improved his record to 6-0 on the season with another strong performance to start a weekend series. He scattered four hits and struck out six batters across six innings.

Junior Alex Harrell paced the team's 12-hit offensive attack by going 3-for-4 at the plate. Ponder went 2-for-4 and scored twice while Meguiar had two hits and drove in three runs. Winland Jr. also added two hits and senior Kyle Norton scored three times from the bottom of the batting order.

Georgia Gwinnett College's Office of Athletics honored local military personnel throughout the contest and had a flyover of two T-1 aircraft from Columbus Air Force Base (Mississippi).
 


Turning Point
The Grizzlies took early command of the contest by scoring eight runs in the first inning. Senior Paul Winland Jr. brought home a pair of runs with a double to give the hosts a 4-0 advantage. Classmate Jon Ponder collected his second hit of the inning, with a triple scoring the seventh run of the game.
 
Key Plays
Bottom of First
Alex Harrell opened the scoring with an RBI single to right-center field
Paul Winland Jr. brought home a pair of runs with a double to right field
Matthew Lee followed with a run-scoring single to give GGC a 5-0 advantage
Jon Ponder's RBI triple plated the seventh of GGC's eight runs in the inning
 
Bottom of Third
Braxton Meguiar cleared the bases with a double to center field, giving the Grizzlies an 11-0 lead
 
Bottom of Sixth
Jacob Bohacek hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Hunter Polley
 
Inside The Numbers

• The Grizzlies outhit Tennessee Southern by a 12-5 margin
• Junior Alex Harrell went 3-for-4 at the plate for the Grizzlies
• Senior Kyle Norton scored three runs in the victory
• Four of the team's 12 hits went for extra bases

News & Notes

• GGC improves to 25-3 in 2025; Tennessee Southern falls to 9-20 this spring
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 3 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll
• The team has won three of the four games in the all-time series against the Firehawks
• Georgia Gwinnett College's Office of Athletics' Military Appreciation Day honored local military personnel and had a flyover during pregame festivities

Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to conclude the three-game weekend series against the University of Tennessee Southern with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 22, at the Grizzly Baseball Complex, starting at 1 p.m.