Piper Wagner breaks Georgia Gwinnett College career home run mark in DH split

BRUNSWICK — A showdown between Georgia Gwinnett College and College of Coastal Georgia lived up to its heritage as the nationally ranked NAIA softball teams split a doubleheader Wednesday.

Back-to-back RBI singles from sophomore Logan Oller and junior Brooke Parker in the ninth inning lifted No. 14 GGC (29-15) to a 9-7 win against No. 10 Coastal Georgia (32-6) in the first game before the hosts scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to capture the second game 6-2.

Both teams have now split the last five doubleheaders in the series.

The Grizzlies grabbed a 4-0 lead in the third inning of the first game when senior Piper Wagner and junior Lea McFadden hit back-to-back home runs. Wagner’s two-run homer broke the program record with 22 career home runs, surpassing the record previously held by Sydney Willhite.

Coastal Georgia chipped away at the deficit by scoring a run in the third inning and got within 4-2 after a home run from Sarah Thinger. The hosts eventually tied the game 4-4 with a two-run single by Kayla Rowell with two outs in the seventh inning to force extra innings.

Both teams added one run in the eighth inning before the crucial hits from Oller and Parker pulled GGC on top 7-5. An infield single by Oller scored McFadden for the eventual game-winning run. Parker then lined a base hit to right field to bring home a key insurance run.

Coastal Georgia placed runners on the third and first bases in the bottom of the ninth inning. However, junior relief pitcher Alexa Good got two pop ups to second base to end the threat and secure the extra-inning victory.

The Grizzlies are now 4-1 this season in extra innings and won the opener of road doubleheaders this week after defeating USC Beaufort (S.C.) 13-10 on Tuesday.

In the second game, GGC pulled even with Coastal Georgia at 2-2 in the fifth inning on a RBI single from McFadden. Junior Sydney Pelaez led off the game with a home run. But the hosts pulled away in the sixth frame when Elizabeth McGovern lined a go-ahead run-scoring double. Thinger added an RBI single up the middle for the team’s fourth run of the game.

McFadden paced GGC’s offensive attack for the day, going 4-for-9 and collecting two hits in each game. Oller went 4-for-5 in the first contest while Parker had a pair of multiple-hit performances.

Georgia Gwinnett College Athletics