The No. 2-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team begins play in the 2026 Avista NAIA World Series against No. 9 seed Indiana University Southeast on Friday, May 22, at 3 p.m. pacific time, from Lewis-Clark State College's Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.

The Grizzlies (49-6) qualified for this year's World Series by winning the NAIA Opening Round's Lawrenceville Bracket with a 12-4 victory against Louisiana Christian University. GGC swept all three games of the tournament for the first time since 2022, outscoring the opposition by a 35-11 margin in the process.

The team, led by first-year Head Coach Tommy Goodale, is making its eighth straight World Series appearance and ninth overall trip in program history. GGC has advanced to the semifinal round in each of the past two seasons and won the 2021 national title.

Friday's victor advances into the winner's bracket for a game on Monday, May 25, at 6:30 p.m. pacific time against the winner of the first-round game between No. 3 seed Lewis-Clark State and No. 8 seed Tennessee Wesleyan University. Meanwhile, the losing team plays an elimination-round game on Saturday, May 23, against the loser of the Lewis-Clark State versus Tennessee Wesleyan contest, at 6:30 p.m. pacific time.

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The World Series is scheduled to continue through Saturday, May 30.

Junior shortstop Peyton Watts paces GGC's offensive attack with a .426 batting average, 18 doubles, seven triples, and hit five home runs. He stands second on the team with 63 runs scored.

Freshman outfielder Vick Gann is hitting at a .411 clip, behind 44 hits, and has scored 49 runs. He has been successful on 17 of his 18 stolen base attempts this season.

Junior second baseman Payton Fort leads the Grizzlies with 67 runs scored and is batting .389 in 2026. He was the Continental Athletic Conference Player of the Year after driving in 61 runs and hitting seven home runs.

Junior outfielder Trey Smith has hit 10 homers and collected 70 RBI to go along with a .371 batting average.

The team's .357 batting average ranks second nationally among NAIA teams, and GGC ranks among the nation's best in the following offensive categories: doubles (first, 156), on-base percentage (second, .468), stolen bases (third, 225), runs scored (tied for fourth, 577), triples (tied for fourth, 24), hits (fifth, 648), runs batted in (sixth, 510), and slugging percentage (second, .561).

On the mound, senior Shane Anderson stands 8-0 with a 3.06 earned run average across 11 starts and 17 mound appearances. The right-hander also has recorded three saves this season.

Senior left-hander Gavin LeBlanc is 5-2 and has a 1.99 ERA and 42 strikeouts across 10 starts this spring. Junior left-hander Peyton Castellow has won all seven pitching decisions, with a 2.45 ERA and 84 strikeouts.

Senior Carson Judd stands 5-0 and was the starting pitcher in the championship game of the Lawrenceville Bracket.

GGC ranks among the NAIA leaders in the following pitching categories: strikeouts (second, 524), strikeouts per nine innings (tied for second, 10.48) and ERA (third, 3.78).

Indiana Southeast (42-14) won the Bellevue (Nebraska) Bracket 3-1 last Wednesday, beating the host Bruins on a three-run walk-off home run by Kason Parks. The Grenadiers, with first-year Head Coach Vincent Tornincasa, won the River States Conference's regular season and tournament titles.

Coulter Hamilton leads the team with a .373 batting average and tied for the team lead with 12 home runs. Trevor Goodwin is tops on the team with 61 RBI and 22 doubles. Bryson Arnette is hitting at a .363 clip and has connected on 11 homers.

Pitcher Brendan Whalen is 9-0 and has a 3.33 ERA and 69 strikeouts across 15 appearances. Jake Gothrup has two saves and stands 4-2 with 58 strikeouts in 39 innings this season.