JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The No. 7-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team flexed its muscle Friday, hitting four home runs in an 11-0 victory over eight innings in the opening game of a weekend series at Edward Waters College (Fla.).
GGC (26-8) scored in three consecutive innings to grab a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning. Senior Onassis Matos connected on the first homer, bringing home two runs, in the fourth inning to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.
Senior C.J. Ballard added a home run one inning later.
Then, the Grizzlies broke the game open behind a five-run seventh inning. Senior Brody Wofford connected on a three-run home run early in the frame. Back-to-back run-scoring hits from senior Brenton Burgess and sophomore Livingston Morris capped the big offensive inning.
Sophomore Nick Tanner hit the team’s final home run of the game with a two-run round tripper in the eighth inning.
Senior starting pitcher Jonathan McKinney tossed 6.1 no-hit innings until allowing a single. That would be the only hit Edward Waters would manage to get in the complete-game victory. McKinney recorded six strikeouts.
The Grizzlies collected 14 hits, with six players recording multiple-hit performances. Matos went 2-for-4 and had three RBI. Wofford drove in three runs across two hits.
Turning Point
The visitors broke the game open behind a five-run seventh inning. Senior Brody Wofford connected on a three-run home run to give GGC a 7-0 lead. The team scored two more runs to stretch the lead to nine runs.
Key Plays
Top of Third
Cam Coursey opened the scoring with a RBI double that brought home Brandon Robinson
Top of Fourth
Onassis Matos connected on his first home run of the season, extending the lead to 3-0
Top of Fifth
C.J. Ballard hit a homer as the Grizzlies scored for the third consecutive inning
Top of Seventh
Brody Wofford connected on the team’s third homer of the game, driving in three runs
Brenton Burgess added a run-scoring double
Livingston Morris hit a RBI single to stretch the lead to 9-0
Inside The Numbers
- The Grizzlies collected 14 hits in the victory
- Six GGC players recorded two or more hits in the contest
- Senior Onassis Matos went 2-for-3 with three RBI and his first home run of the season
- GGC scored a run in five separate innings
News & Notes
- GGC improves to 26-8 on the season; Edward Waters falls to 18-25
- Georgia Gwinnett College is No. 7 in the NAIA Top 25 poll
- The Grizzlies have won all three meetings played between the two programs; this weekend’s series is the first time GGC has played in Jacksonville
- This was GGC’s fourth shutout of the season; the team has won eight of its last nine games
- The victory was the 1,000th win by all sports teams in GGC athletics history
Up Next
The two teams close out the weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 30, starting at 1 p.m.