Guilford College Baseball Finals – Guilford 8-5, Randolph-Macon 5-15

Greensboro, N.C. – Guilford College split an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) doubleheader with visiting Randolph-Macon College Saturday afternoon at McBane Field. The Quakers rallied to win the opener, 8-5, while the Yellow Jackets took game two, 15-5. The Quakers’ record is 17-22 overall, 6-12 in the ODAC entering Guilford’s final game of the season Tuesday night versus Ferrum College. Randolph-Macon moves to 21-15 overall, 12-6 in the ODAC.

In game one, the Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 5-2 lead thanks to a four-run fourth inning that featured consecutive RBI hits by J.C. Conway, Jeff Beck and Jay Lichter. The Quakers started their rally with Byron Myers’ solo homer in the fourth, followed by a two-run shot in the fifth that made it a 5-5 game. Josh Sumler broke the tie with a two-out, RBI single in the sixth. Phil Drew provided the final margin with a two-run double later in the inning.

Drew’s game-high three hits and two RBIs made a winner out of Quakers’ pitcher Ryan Hairston for the sixth time this year. Hairston yielded five earned runs on seven hits before yielding to Drew Gurkin, who threw a scoreless seventh inning for his second save. Lichter paced the Yellow Jackets’ offense with two hits and an RBI. Reliever Dillon Sheads (1-1) took the loss.

In the nightcap, Randolph-Macon built a 15-1 lead through seven and a half innings before the Quakers hit two homers in the bottom of the eighth to provide the final margin. Ryan Meleski had three hits and three RBIs for the guests, including a two-run triple in the fifth inning that made it a 6-0 game. Adam Carpenter had four hits, including a solo homer in the Yellow Jackets’ first and a run-scoring single in the ninth. Michael Wallace also went four-for-five with two doubles and scored twice. Rookie pitcher Byron Mendenhall benefitted from the offense and improved to 6-0 with six innings of three-hit ball.

Guilford’s Brad Buchman went two-for-three with three RBIs on his team-leading 11th homer of the season, which ranks seventh in school history. Drew Ward also homered for the Quakers. Reid MacLean dropped to 0-5 with the loss.

Guilford 8, Randolph-Macon 5 (Apr 19, 2008 at Greensboro, N.C.) (Game 1)
———————————————————————-
Randolph-Macon…… 001 400 0 – 5 7 0 (20-15, 11-6 ODAC)
Guilford………… 020 123 X – 8 12 1 (17-21, 6-11 ODAC)
———————————————————————-
Pitchers: Randolph-Macon – Charlie Hartt; Dillon Sheads(5); Steve Craun(6). Guilford – Ryan Hairston; Drew Gurkin(7).
Win-Ryan Hairston(6-6) Save-Drew Gurkin(2) Loss-Dillon Sheads(3-3) T-2:00 A-130
HR GC – Joe John (5); Byron Myers (2).
Game notes: Josh Sumler hit an RBI single in the 6th to break a 5-5 tie and rally GC past R-MC in this Old Dominion Athletic Conference game. Phil Drew added a 2-run double later in the GC 6th. Joe John hit a 2-run HR in the GC 5th. Byron Myers hit a solo shot in the GC 4th.
Game: GCB-38

Randolph-Macon 15, Guilford 5 (Apr 19, 2008 at Greensboro, N.C.) (Game 2)
———————————————————————-
Randolph-Macon…… 100 232 160 – 15 20 0 (21-15, 12-6 ODAC)
Guilford………… 000 001 040 – 5 8 0 (17-22, 6-12 ODAC)
———————————————————————-
Pitchers: Randolph-Macon – Byron Mendenhall; Kyle Hicks(7). Guilford – Reid MacLean; Wayde Edelman(5); Alex Pecevich(7); Andrew McClannon(8).
Win-Byron Mendenhall(6-0) Save-Kyle Hicks(2) Loss-Reid MacLean(0-5) T-3:00 A-130
HR RMC – Adam Carpenter (3).
HR GC – Brad Buchman (11); Drew Ward (1).
Game notes: Greg Meleski hit a 2-run triple in the 5th and Bruno Gora added a 2-run single in the 8th as RMC opened a 15-1 lead. Adam Carpenter hit a solo HR in the RMC 2nd. Brad Buchman hit a 3-run HR in the GC 8th and Drew Ward followed later in the inning with a solo shot. MacLean faced 2 batters in the 5th.
Game: GCB-39