The No. 2-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, with junior Jay O'Neill crushing a two-run walk-off home run, to open a weekend series against Freed-Hardeman University (Tennessee) with a 11-10 victory Friday night at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.

The Grizzlies (25-2) came back from a 10-7 deficit after Freed-Hardeman (17-7) plated five runs in the top half of the ninth.

Junior third baseman JJ Garcia started the rally by hitting a sacrifice fly to deep center field that brought home junior second baseman Payton Fort for the first run of the final frame. Junior left fielder Trey Smith followed with an RBI ground out to second base, scoring junior shortstop Peyton Watts.

Trailing 10-9 with two outs, junior pitcher Lance Bratlien lined a 3-2 pitch down the right field line for a double to put the potential game-tying run in scoring position. O'Neill then drilled the second pitch he saw deep over the right field fence for the walk-off game-winning home run.

"They (Freed-Hardeman) brought a guy out of the bullpen that threw a heavy fastball, so I was sitting on getting a fastball. As soon as I saw him throw it out of his hand, I knew I had to put a good swing on it. I couldn't wait to get around the bases and celebrate with my brothers," said O'Neill, who hit his first career walk-off homer.

Freed-Hardeman benefited from two GGC defensive errors for its five-run rally in the top of the ninth inning. The hosts had a 7-5 lead entering the final frame.

The Lions' Hunter Ryan delivered a one-out RBI single through the right side of the infield to tie the contest at 7-7. Then, Brennen Gibson followed with a three-run homer to left field to give the visitors the 10-7 advantage.

Earlier, GGC rallied from a 4-2 deficit during the middle innings.

Fort tallied a run-scoring single to right field before Garcia lined an RBI double to right-center field that tied the game, at 4-4, in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Bratlien came off the bench to hit a leadoff homer in the sixth inning that gave the hosts a 6-5 lead.

"As long as there are outs remaining, we have a chance. We put that on display today," said Bratlien.

A couple of innings later, senior catcher Grant Pohlman executed a safety squeeze bunt play for an infield RBI single as the Grizzlies regained the lead, at 6-5. O'Neill then scored on the back end of a double-steal attempt to increase the team's advantage to two runs.

Freed-Hardeman's Brooks Jones connected on a three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning as the visitors took their first lead of the game, at 4-2.

Bratlien went 3-for-3, with his second home run of the season and two doubles. Watts collected three hits and scored twice.


 
Coach's Corner
"This was a great game on both sides. Hats off to Freed-Hardeman as they were ready to come here and compete. That is what we expected out of them. In the ninth inning, we just wanted to bring the tying run to the plate with runners on. It was great to see the guys have that belief (to rally for the win). I had pinch hit Jay earlier in the game in a left-on-left (hitter-pitcher) situation, so it was great to see him stay locked in mentally and come through when his number was called later in the game," said Head Coach Tommy Goodale.
 
Turning Point
Junior right fielder Jay O'Neill connected on a walk-off two-run home run to right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap a four-run rally. The Grizzlies used their first two outs of the frame to bring in runs as junior third baseman JJ Garcia hit a sacrifice fly and junior left fielder Trey Smith followed with an RBI ground out. Junior pitcher Lance Bratlien lined a double down the right field line to set up O'Neill's dramatic at-bat.
 
Key Plays
Bottom of Third
Peyton Watts lined a two-run single to right field that gave the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead
 
Top of Fifth
Brooks Jones connected on a three-run homer to left field, giving the Lions a 4-2 advantage
 
Bottom of Fifth
Payton Fort hit a run-scoring single to right field
JJ Garcia added an RBI double to square the contest at 4-4
 
Bottom of Sixth
Lance Bratlien led off the frame with a home run to center field
 
Bottom of Eighth
Grant Pohlman hit an infield RBI single to bring home Lance Bratlien and give GGC a 6-5 advantage
Jay O'Neill scored on the back end of a double-steal attempt
 
Top of Ninth
Hunter Ryan hit a game-tying RBI single through the right side of the infield, tying the contest at 7-7
Brennen Gibson followed with a three-run homer to left field
 
Bottom of Ninth
JJ Garcia hit a sacrifice fly to center field that started the comeback
Trey Smith added an RBI ground out to bring the Grizzlies within a run, at 10-9
Jay O'Neill connected on a two-run walk-off home run to right field for the game-winner
 
Inside The Numbers 

• Freed-Hardeman outhit the Grizzlies by a 14-11 margin
• Junior shortstop Peyton Watts tallied three hits and scored twice
• Junior Lance Bratlien went 3-for-3 at the plate and picked up the win in relief
• Nine of the game's 21 runs were scored in the ninth inning

News & Notes 

• GGC improves to 25-2 in 2026; Freed-Hardeman drops to 17-7 this spring
• The Grizzlies were ranked No. 2 in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll; Freed-Hardeman received votes in the same poll
• Georgia Gwinnett College leads the all-time series against the Lions 7-5, with all seven triumphs coming in Lawrenceville
• The team is 15-1 at home this season

Up Next 
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to conclude the weekend series with a doubleheader against Freed-Hardeman University (Tennessee) on Saturday, March 21, at the Grizzly Baseball Complex, starting at 1 p.m.