The No. 2-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team collected a pair of hard-fought 6-5 and 7-5 victories to complete a season-opening series sweep of Bryan College (Tennessee) on Friday afternoon at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.

Junior Payton Fort hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to center field that scored junior Jay O'Neill in the opening game. Then, senior reliever Caiden Johnson got out of a bases-loaded situation with a strikeout to secure the victory in the nightcap.

GGC (3-0) rallied from a 4-1 deficit during Friday's first contest. Junior Lance Bratlien began the comeback with a run-scoring ground out to third base in the bottom of the fourth inning. The hosts then pushed across three runs an inning later to take a 5-4 lead. Junior JJ Garcia lined an RBI double down the left field line for a key hit in the frame.

Bryan (0-3), which had two two-run home runs to take the early 4-1 advantage, answered in the top of the sixth inning with an RBI single up the middle by Zach Terry. That tied the contest at 5-5.

Then, the Grizzlies came back with a rally of their own. The team started the bottom of the seventh inning with the first three batters getting on base safely, setting up Fort's clutch at-bat that produced the game-winning run.

In the nightcap, GGC once again found itself trailing, this time by a 3-0 score, before tying the game with three runs in the third inning, adding another run in the fourth and three more tallies during the fifth inning to build a 7-3 lead. Junior Peyton Watts connected on a two-run home run to right field, the team's first homer of the season, to tie the game in the third inning.

Senior Grant Pohlman executed a safety squeeze bunt to produce the run in the fourth inning. Later, Garcia lined a run-scoring double down the left field line before O'Neill hit a sacrifice fly to add another run to the scoreboard.

Bryan responded with a run in the sixth and seventh innings and brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the final frame. That's when Johnson struck out pinch hitter Lane Brooks to end the contest.

Garcia had five hits to pace GGC's 18-hit offensive attack across the doubleheader sweep. He went 3-for-4, with two RBI, in the nightcap. Junior Jackson Legg tallied two hits in the second game.

Senior relief pitcher James Sells had four strikeouts in tossing three strong innings to pick up the victory in the nightcap. Classmate Christian Johnson tossed a scoreless top of the seventh inning in the opener to collect the win out of the bullpen.


 
Coach's Corner
"We definitely learned a lot about our team today. The beauty of baseball and playing a weekend series is that you have to bounce back – win, lose or draw. I thought our mental toughness showed in the first game and our ability to continually punch back was great to see. We were able to hold onto the momentum in the second game. We had quality at-bats to score runs today," said Head Coach Tommy Goodale.
 
Turning Point
GGC responded from early deficits to capture both ends of Friday's doubleheader. Junior Payton Fort hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to center field that scored junior Jay O'Neill with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning of the opening game. Then, after a two-run home run by junior Peyton Watts tied the game, at 3-3, senior Grant Pohlman executed a safety squeeze bunt, junior JJ Garcia lined a run-scoring double and O'Neill hit a sacrifice fly for runs that resulted in the comeback victory during the nightcap.
 
Key Plays
First Game
Bottom of Second
Jackson Legg hit an RBI ground out to second base to open the scoring
 
Top of Third
Caleb Ramsey connected on a two-run home run to give the Lions a 2-1 lead
 
Top of Fourth
Denajh Williams added another two-run home run to stretch the visitors' lead to 4-1
 
Bottom of Fourth
Lance Bratlien cut the deficit in half, at 4-2, with a run-scoring ground out to third base
 
Bottom of Fifth
Trey Smith tied the game, at 4-4, with an RBI fielder's choice
JJ Garcia gave the Grizzlies the lead with a double down the left field line that capped a three-run inning
 
Bottom of Seventh
Payton Fort hit a walk-off sacrifice fly that scored Jay O'Neill
 
Second Game
Bottom of Third
Peyton Watts hit a two-run home run to right field for the team's first round tripper of the 2026 campaign, squaring the contest at 3-3
 
Bottom of Fourth
Grant Pohlman executed a safety squeeze bunt that scored Jay O'Neill and gave the hosts a 4-3 lead
 
Bottom of Fifth
JJ Garcia lined a run-scoring double
Jay O'Neill hit a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home Trey Smith
JJ Garcia successfully stole third and later scored following a throwing error
 
Top of Seventh
Caiden Johnson struck out pinch hitter Lane Brooks with the bases loaded to secure the two-run victory and series sweep
 
Inside The Numbers

• GGC registered 18 hits across Friday's two games
• Junior JJ Garcia went 3-for-4, with two RBI, during the second contest
• Six GGC pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts during the doubleheader sweep
• The Grizzlies did not commit a defensive error on Friday

News & Notes

• GGC improved to 3-0 on the season; Bryan dropped to 0-3 this spring
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 2 in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 poll
• The team has won 15 of the 18 meetings with Bryan, including an 8-1 mark in games played in Lawrenceville
• Junior Peyton Watts hit the team's first home run of the 2026 season with a two-run blast in Friday's second game

Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to travel to the University of Mobile for a doubleheader on Friday, February 6, in Mobile, Alabama, starting at 2 p.m.