Georgia Gwinnett College Athletics

Sweet Sweep

The top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team completed a clean sweep to the Association of Independent Institutions 2021 Baseball Championship, capturing the title Monday afternoon with a 12-3 victory over No. 2 seed Fisher College (Massachusetts) at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.

GGC won its fifth A.I.I. baseball title in program history and its first under Head Coach Jeremy Sheetinger.

The Grizzlies (42-9) will enter the NAIA national tournament on a 13-game winning streak.

Senior Griffin Keller, the 2021 A.I.I. baseball championship Most Outstanding Player award recipient, drove in seven runs in Monday's championship game. His sacrifice fly in the first inning helped give the Grizzlies a 2-0 advantage. Then, Keller connected on a three-run home run over the right field fence to extend the lead to 5-0.

After Fisher (31-20) got within 5-3 in the sixth inning, the tournament hosts put the game away behind a five-run seventh inning. Keller was once again at the center of the offense, lining a bases-clearing three-run single to right field. Freshman Chase Evans had opened the scoring in the frame with a two-run single.

Junior starting pitcher Adam McKillican picked up the victory, striking out six batters across six innings. Freshman Tyler Clayton tossed two scoreless innings in relief before senior Hunter Caudelle closed out the game by retiring all three batters faced in the ninth inning.

Joining Keller as Grizzlies on the A.I.I. all-tournament team were senior Hunter Dollander, junior Gabe Howell and sophomore Jake Defries.