Box Score TALLADEGA, Ala. - Playing their final home non-conference game of the regular season on Tuesday, the Talladega College baseball team knew they had their work cut out for them. They welcomed in the NAIA No. 3 Georgia Gwinnett College Grizzlies for a single game, knowing that the Grizzlies entered the game winners of seven in a row, with the last five games all wrapped up in seven innings.
On Tuesday, The Tornadoes struggled to get the offense going, and the Grizzlies continued to swing the hot bats.
Georgia Gwinnett (37-5) took control from the start, as they plated 10 runs in the first inning, and Talladega (22-15-1) managed only two runs in the game, as the Grizzlies took the win 24-2.
GGC sent 14 men to the plate in the first inning, and they took advantage of a 'Dega error to push across 10 runs. They added three more in the second frame to push the lead to 13-0, but in the bottom of the third, Talladega was able to dent the scoreboard for the first time this season against the Grizzlies.
Armando Jackson blasted a one-out, two run home run in the bottom of the third inning. The blast was his fourth of the season, and it brought his season RBI total to 26, and that pulled the Tornadoes closer temporarily.
Unfortunately for 'Dega, that momentum was short-lived. Georgia Gwinnett answered back immediately with nine runs in the top of the fourth, and they added single runs in the fifth and seventh frames to claim the win 24-2.
Tyler Clayton (6-1) earned the win for the Grizzlies, while
Winston Garcia (2-1) was tagged with the loss for 'Dega. Clayton allowed two runs on four hits in four innings, he walked two and fanned seven; while Garcia issued four free passes and yielded three hits that led to seven runs in two-thirds of an inning of work.
Rafael Diaz had the Tornadoes' only other extra base hit in the game, a leadoff double in the bottom of the fourth frame, and
Wander Arias also scored a run in the game.
The Tornadoes will hit the road this weekend for their final away series in the 2023 Southern States Athletic Conference slate. They will head to Mobile, Alabama to take on the 7th-ranked Rams of the University of Mobile (28-9, 13-5 SSAC) in a three game series that will have significant implications on the SSAC standings. With only six games remaining in the conference season, Talladega is tied for third in the SSAC, one game behind Mobile and two games in back of William Carey University. Mobile and Talladega will open the series on Friday afternoon with a single game slated for 4 p.m., and they will wrap it up with a double-header on Saturday scheduled for 1 p.m.
