The No. 4-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College softball team finds itself in rare territory, with a .500 record for a season, after losing the first two games of Friday's Grizzly Open at the Grizzly Softball Complex.

GGC has a 2-2 record after losing 10-2 to No. 24 University of Rio Grande (Ohio) and 11-5 to Huntington University (Indiana). The team will strive to recapture its winning ways in games against Huntington and Lindsey Wilson University (Kentucky) on Saturday, February 14, at noon and 4:30 p.m., respectively.

The Grizzlies haven't had a .500 record at any time in a season since splitting the first six games of the 2022 campaign. That team resurrected itself for a 36-20 mark.

Rio Grande (1-1) struck early in its second game of the day, after losing 4-1 to Lindsey Wilson. The Red Storm scored seven runs in the top of the first inning, added a single run in the second and two more tallies in the third to build a commanding 10-2 advantage.

The hosts' lone runs came when freshman shortstop Reesie Burch hit her first collegiate home run. That brought home junior left fielder Enna Lackey in the bottom of the second inning.

GGC fell behind 6-0 after the first two innings against Huntington (1-1). The team slowly clawed back into the game with a single run in the bottom of the third inning and four runs in the sixth frame, closing the gap to 6-5. Big hits came from freshman third baseman Desiree Trudel, with a single scoring classmate Brooke Rockhold, and a three-run home run by sophomore catcher Samantha Fadely.

However, the Foresters (1-1) responded by scoring five runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull away for the victory.

A bright spot for the Grizzlies was sophomore Casey Beaver, who managed to have three of the team's 10 hits on the day.
 
Turning Point
The Grizzlies found themselves trailing by large margins early in both of Friday's Grizzly Open outings. Rio Grande scored seven runs in the opening inning of the first contest of the day and led 10-2 by the third frame. Then, Huntington took an early 6-0 lead in the second inning of the night cap of a busy day at the Grizzly Softball Complex.
 
Key Plays
Rio Grande Game
Top of First
Nigella Reck opened the scoring with a double down the right field line that scored Kendyl Moss and Delana Landefeld for a 2-0 lead
A run-scoring double by Lindzie Runions, an RBI single by Emily Lane, and a based-loaded walk gave the visitors an early 8-0 edge
 
Top of Second
Natalie Bates hit a solo home run to left field to give Rio Grande a 9-0 lead
 
Bottom of Second
Reesie Burch hit her first collegiate home run, scoring Enna Lackey for GGC's lone runs of the game
 
Huntington Game
Top of First
Huntington struck early, with Maddie Goheen's double scoring Jess Duvall and Khloee Gregory's sacrifice fly bringing home Maddie Duvall, giving Huntington a 2-0 lead
 
Top of Second
The Foresters added four more runs to take a 6-0 advantage on a triple by Makinzie Kline, a wild pitch, and two bases-loaded walks
 
Bottom of Third
A double by Sara Roussel scored Reesie Burch with GGC's first run of the game
 
Bottom of Sixth
Desiree Trudel's RBI single scored Brooke Rockhold to close the gap to 6-2
Samantha Fadely brought the hosts within a run, at 6-5, on a three-RBI home run to deep left-center field
 
Top of Seventh
Huntington pulled away again by adding five runs, with a based-loaded double by Maddie Duvall scoring three big insurance runs
 
Inside The Numbers

• GGC was outhit by a 23-10 margin in the doubleheader
• Sophomore Casey Beaver had three of the team's 10 hits on the day
• Freshman Reesie Burch smashed a two-hit home run to account for the team's lone runs against Rio Grande
• Sophomore Samantha Fadely hit a three-run homer, her first of the season, against Huntington

News & Notes

• GGC's record is now 2-2 for the season; Rio Grande and Huntington are both 1-1 after opening their seasons in the first day of the Grizzly Open
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 4 and Rio Grande was No. 24 in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 poll
• The last time GGC opened a campaign with a .500 record was the 2022 season when it was 3-3 after the first six games; the team ended up 36-20
• Georgia Gwinnett College has won 17 of the 23 games in the series against Rio Grande, while this was the program's first meeting with Huntington

Up Next
The Grizzly Open continues Saturday, February 14, with Georgia Gwinnett College having a rematch against Huntington University, starting at noon, and then facing Lindsey Wilson University (Kentucky), at 4:30 p.m.