LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Another total team effort brought another home winning weekend series as the No. 7-ranked Georgia Gwinnett College baseball team defeated No. 18 Lyon College (Ark.) 5-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Grizzly Baseball Complex.
GGC (23-8) got a dominate starting pitching performance from junior Hunter Caudelle. The right hander scattered four hits across seven scoreless innings before handing things over to senior relievers Matthew Swain and Brenton Burgess, who combined for three strikeouts across two scoreless innings. Caudelle improved to 2-0 on the season.
The team’s starting pitchers allowed one run across 21 innings in the series.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies’ offense had 13 hits, including five extra-base hits, in the victory. Burgess and junior Gabe Austin collected three hits apiece to lead the offense. Burgess, the starting shortstop, had two doubles while Austin drove in a pair of runs. Senior Brody Wofford tallied two hits.
Georgia Gwinnett allowed just two runs in the final 18 innings of the series, after losing Friday’s series opener when the Scots scored 12 runs over the final two innings of the game. Remove those two innings and the hosts outscored their opponent 18-3 in the three-game series.
The team has won six straight weekend series, the last two against ranked opponents, after opening the 2019 season by dropping two of three games against No. 1 Southeastern University (Fla.).
Coach’s Corner
“It was great to bounce back after Friday night. We pitched well. Hopefully, this propels us and we continue to execute our game plan. I am happy for the team that it won this series against another quality opponent,” said Head Coach Brad Stromdahl.
Turning Point
GGC opened the way for the series-clinching victory by scoring two runs in the third inning. Back-to-back extra-base hits with two outs brought home the runs. Junior Gabe Austin connected on a double to score sophomore Cam Coursey, giving the team a 2-0 advantage. Then, sophomore Livingston Morris followed with a run-scoring triple to tack on an additional run.
Key Plays
Bottom of First
Brody Wofford’s RBI double brought home Brenton Burgess to open the scoring
Bottom of Third
Gabe Austin hit a run-scoring double to give the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead
Livingston Morris followed with a RBI triple
Bottom of Fifth
Gabe Austin hit a run-scoring single to bring home Nick Barnes, giving the team a 4-0 lead
Bottom of Sixth
Brenton Burgess collected his third hit of the game with a single, extending the lead to 5-0
Inside The Numbers
- The Grizzlies tallied 13 hits in the victory
- GGC’s starting pitchers allowed one run across 21 innings in the series
- The team recorded four doubles and a triple
- Senior right fielder C.J. Ballard had six putouts
News & Notes
- GGC improves to 23-8 on the season; Lyon drops to 23-10
- Georgia Gwinnett College is No. 7 in the NAIA Top 25 poll; Lyon stood No. 18 in the same poll
- GGC has won six consecutive weekend series, the last two against ranked opponents
- The team has a 20-5 record at the Grizzly Baseball Complex this season
Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College travels to Reinhardt University (Ga.) for a pair of games on Tuesday, March 26, starting at 4:30 p.m. The first game is the resumption of a Feb. 20 suspended game, with the Grizzlies leading 5-4 in the eighth inning. Then, the two teams will play a single nine-inning game.