The No. 2-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team's 18-member senior class contributed in numerous ways to Saturday's Senior Day doubleheader sweep against Blue Mountain Christian University (Mississippi) by 6-5 and 17-10 scores at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.

After being honored in pregame festivities, senior Jon Ponder hit a walk-off home run for the one-run victory in the opener. Then, senior reliever Wyatt Dodgens tossed two scoreless innings and the Grizzlies plated 17 runs behind a season-high 23 hits in the nightcap. Senior Braxton Meguiar and Ponder each recorded four hits in that victory – the team's 13th straight.

GGC (33-3) pushed across a run in the first and second innings of the opener to grab a quick 2-0 advantage. Junior Alex Harrell added a sacrifice fly to plate Ponder in the opening frame. Senior Kyle Norton had another sacrifice fly during the second inning.

Later, Norton hit an infield RBI single before Meguiar lined a run-scoring double down the right field line to extend the hosts' lead to 5-0 in the fourth inning.

Blue Mountain Christian (19-19) battled back throughout the contest, plating two runs in the fifth inning. Then, Ross Polizzi hit a bases-clearing double off the wall in right field, with two outs in the top of the seventh inning, to tie the contest at 5-5.

That's when Ponder closed out the victory with his second career walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure GGC's 6-5 triumph. He also hit a leadoff walk-off home run in the seventh inning against Clarke University (Iowa) during the 2023 season.

The nightcap featured a back-and-forth affair between the two teams.

The Grizzlies jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning following a sacrifice fly by Harrell. He later connected on a two-run home run during the third inning, giving the team a 4-2 advantage.

Blue Mountain Christian took an 8-6 lead in the top of the sixth frame after Hayden Redding hit a two-run triple.

Dodgens emerged from the GGC bullpen with Redding at third base and no outs in the inning. The right hander retired the next three batters to strand Redding on the base path. He improved to 5-0 on the season with another strong relief outing.

The momentum carried over to the bottom half of the sixth inning as the hosts scored four runs. Senior Jackson Cobb lined a go-ahead RBI double before scoring on a base hit from senior Paul Winland Jr. to give the hosts a 10-8 lead.

The team pushed across three more runs in the seventh inning and added four runs during the eighth inning to secure the weekend series sweep.

Ponder and Meguiar each went 4-for-6 at the plate and combined to score five runs. Winland Jr. registered three hits, while seniors Matthew Lee and Scott Seeker joined junior Tyler M. Martin and Cobb in collecting two hits.

The Senior Day celebration honored 18 senior student-athletes. The class has helped the program capture three conference championships, advance to three Avista NAIA World Series, including last season's semifinal round appearance, and post 182 victories.


 
Coach's Corner
"It was a great day as we celebrated a huge and impactful class that has done so much for our program. I liked how the guys responded to both challenges today. We had to go through some of those low points, but we came out of it together," said Head Coach Jeremy Sheetinger.
 
Turning Point
Senior reliever Wyatt Dodgens retired three straight batters to strand a base runner at third base after entering the game with GGC trailing 8-6 and having no outs in the top of the sixth inning. GGC responded by scoring four runs in the bottom half of that frame to take the lead for good at 10-8.
 
Key Plays
First Game
Bottom of First
Alex Harrell hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Jon Ponder
 
Bottom of Second
Kyle Norton added a sacrifice fly to center field, giving the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead
 
Bottom of Fourth
Jackson Cobb successfully stole home
Kyle Norton hit an infield RBI single
Braxton Meguiar collected a run-scoring double to give the team a three-run lead
 
Top of Seventh
Ross Polizzi tied the game at 5-5 with a bases-clearing double off the wall in right field with two outs in the inning
 
Bottom of Seventh
Jon Ponder led off the frame with a walk-off home run that decided the contest
 
Second Game
Bottom of First
Alex Harrell hit a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home Braxton Meguiar for a 2-0 lead
 
Top of Second
Ross Polizzi tied the game, at 2-2, with a two-run home run down the right field line
 
Bottom of Third
Alex Harrell connected on a two-run home run to left-center field as the Grizzlies regained the lead, at 4-2
Matthew Lee hit an infield RBI single
 
Top of Fourth
Hayden Redding lined a two-run single to center field and the game was again tied at 5-5
 
Bottom of Fifth
Paul Winland Jr. scored following a wild pitch to give GGC a 6-5 lead
 
Top of Sixth
Hayden Redding hit a two-run triple to left-center field to give the Toppers an 8-6 advantage
 
Bottom of Sixth
Braxton Meguiar legged out an RBI triple
Alex Harrell hit a sacrifice fly to score Braxton Meguiar and tie the contest, at 8-8
Jackson Cobb lined a run-scoring double down the right field line to bring home Scott Seeker, giving the hosts a 9-8 lead
Paul Winland Jr. tallied a run-scoring single to plate the 10th run of the game
 
Bottom of Seventh
Kyle Norton lined an RBI double to bring home Tyler M. Martin
Braxton Meguiar hit a run-scoring double to extend the lead to 12-8
 
Bottom of Eighth
Jon Ponder lined a run-scoring single to center field to plate the team's 17th run of the game
 
Inside The Numbers

• The Grizzlies recorded a season-high 23 hits in Saturday's second contest
• Senior Jon Ponder went 7-for-10 and scored four runs across Saturday's action
• GGC tallied nine extra-base hits in the series finale
• Four pitchers combined to strike out 12 batters in the opener

News & Notes

• GGC improves to 33-3 this spring; Blue Mountain Christian drops to 19-19 on the season
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 2 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll
• The team has now won five of the six meetings with the Toppers
• Prior to the contest the Georgia Gwinnett College baseball program honored this year's 18 senior student-athletes

Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to host No. 3 Reinhardt University (Georgia) on Tuesday, April 8, at the Grizzly Baseball Complex, starting at 5 p.m.