LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The first day of the 2017 Association of Independent Institutions softball tournament was suspended to heavy rain in the greater-Gwinnett County area on Thursday after an inning and a half of play.

Through an inning and half of the first contest between host and top-seeded No. 5 Georgia Gwinnett and fourth-seeded Fisher (Mass.), the Grizzlies lead the Falcons 3-1.  In extremely wet conditions, gripping the ball was an issue for starting pitchers Taylor Hansis (GGC) and Mikayla Zimmerman (Fisher) in the opening inning.

Fisher (16-18) scored first in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly to right by third baseman Kristina Brown.

Georgia Gwinnett rallied back in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead over the Falcons.  The A.I.I.'s Player of the Year Niki Cook led off the inning with a stand-up triple to center and later scored on an infield single by right fielder RaeQuinn Rossetti.  GGC took its first lead, 2-1, of the contest with an RBI-double by First-Team All-A.I.I. catcher Sydney Willhite and then increased its lead to 3-1 with an infield single by left fielder Aubree Cox.

Hansis then worked a scoreless top of the second before the tarp was pulled and play was suspended due to heavy rain.

Georgia Gwinnett and Fisher will resume play on Friday, May 5 at 9:00 a.m. at the Grizzly Softball Complex in Lawrenceville.

Second-seeded Edward Waters (Fla.) will then face third-seeded Talladega (Ala.) at approximately 11:30 a.m.

All contests of the 2017 A.I.I. Softball Tournament can be accessed live via the Grizzly Digital Network free of charge.

Tentative Schedule for Friday, May 5

Game 1:  9:00 a.m. – No. 4 Fisher vs. No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett

​Game 2:  11:30 a.m. – No. 3 Talladega vs. No. 2 Edward Waters

Game 3:  2:00 p.m. – Winner game #1 vs. Winner game #2

Game 4:  4:30 p.m. – Loser game #1 vs. Loser game #2