LEWISTON, Idaho – For the second consecutive season, the Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team’s season ended in the semifinals of the Avista NAIA World Series. This year’s successful postseason trail ended with a 4-1 loss to St. Thomas University (Fla.) on Wednesday afternoon.
GGC (48-13), the No. 5 seeded team, matched the program’s deepest championship round run, enjoyed its third World Series appearance in program history and won this year’s Association of Independent Institutions championship. The team had an 8-2 record in postseason play this spring.
St. Thomas (48-14) scored all of its four runs in the third inning and kept the Grizzlies from crossing home plate, with the exception of one tally.
A two-run home run from Alejandro Rivero was the big hit in St. Thomas’ third inning. Jackie Urbaez provided a sacrifice fly to score the first run, while Erick Delgado added a RBI single before Rivero’s round tripper.
GGC answered with its lone run in the top of the fourth inning when sophomore Cam Coursey hit an infield single to bring home sophomore Nick Tanner. The base hit came with two outs.
The Grizzlies left nine runners on the bases in the contest.
Senior Tucker Plouffe struck out six batters in tossing 5.2 innings of scoreless relief.
Offensively, senior Brenton Burgess joined Coursey in collecting two hits for Georgia Gwinnett College.
Turning Point
The Bobcats took advantage of a big third inning to grab a 4-0 advantage. A sacrifice fly from Jackie Urbaez was followed Erick Delgado’s RBI single. That was followed by a two-run home run from Alejandro Rivero.
Key Plays
Bottom of Third
Jackie Urbaez hit a sacrifice fly to bring home the first of four runs in the inning
Erick Delgado lined a RBI single to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead
Alejandro Rivero connected on a two-run home run
Top of Fourth
Cam Coursey hit an infield single that scored Nick Tanner with GGC’s lone run
Inside The Numbers
- St. Thomas outhit GGC by an 8-to-7 margin
- Senior pitcher Tucker Plouffe struck out six batters and didn’t allow a run in 5.2 innings of relief
- Senior Brenton Burgess and sophomore Cam Coursey each recorded two hits in the contest
- GGC hitters drew four walks
- The Grizzlies left nine runners on the bases in the game
News & Notes
- GGC ends the 2019 season with a 48-13 record; St. Thomas improves to 48-14
- Georgia Gwinnett College was the No. 5 seed in the 2019 Avista NAIA World Series bracket; St. Thomas stood as the No. 6 seed in the double-elimination tournament
- The Grizzlies were ranked No. 4 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll of the regular season
- GGC made its third trip to the Avista NAIA World Series; the team advanced to the semifinal round during the last two years
- Georgia Gwinnett College went 8-2 in 2019 postseason play
- St. Thomas has won three of the four meetings between the two programs