Experienced Players Fill Softball Infield for 2026

The No. 4-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College softball team is blessed to have five returning players to cover three key infield pieces and several quality newcomers to fill in other places to create a deep and talented unit for the rapidly approaching season.

The Grizzlies are scheduled to open the 2026 season with a home doubleheader against Montreat College (North Carolina) on Tuesday, February 10, at the Grizzly Softball Complex, starting at 4 p.m. The team plays its first eight games on the home diamond.

GGC hopes to build upon a successful season when Head Coach Kat Ihlenburg’s team had a 48-10 record and matched the program’s deepest postseason run by getting to the semifinal round of the 2025 NAIA World Series. 

GGCAthletics.com concludes its preseason position preview series by highlighting the infield group that features three seniors, one junior and sophomore and those six freshmen.

Senior Savannah Jenkins adapted to the GGC program last spring after transferring from Wallace Community College (Alabama) and settled into being a potent bat in the lineup. She hit four home runs, drove in 39 runs, had seven doubles, and had a .509 slugging percentage. Jenkins earned first all-Continental Athletic Conference team honors.

Junior Morgan McQuagge has been an everyday starter at third base in each of the past two seasons. Her walk-off RBI single sent GGC to the World Series in 2024, when she was named the CAC’s Freshman of the Year. She then scored 31 runs last spring and was 22-for-23 in stolen base attempts, while starting 50 games.

Senior Sara Roussel also started 50 games in the middle infield in 2025, her first season in Lawrenceville. She touched home plate 29 times and batted anywhere from leadoff, second spots to the bottom of the lineup.

“I always want the team to feel the best and most comfortable when the stage is the biggest. Preparation is the key to that success. Our hard work pays off in games,” said Ihlenburg.

Another pressure-packed producer is senior Summer Hickson, who enters her fourth season in the Green and Gray. The middle infielder hit a home run at the NAIA World Series during her freshman season. She batted .340 in 42 appearances, including 35 starts, last spring. Sophomore Bailey Bowen adds depth as a corner infielder and made the most of her playing time in 2025, batting .500 across 11 games.

Meanwhile, six freshmen newcomers are ready to make the infield unit a deep and talented unit. This group includes Reesie Burch, Graci Kluge, Sadie McGuinn, Brooke Rockhold, Chloe Rockhold, and Desiree Trudel. These players collected all-state accolades during their high school careers.