courtesy of Dave Walters Guilford College SID:
GUILFORD BASEBALL TEAM TABBED SEVENTH IN ODAC POLL
Greensboro, NC –Guilford College’s baseball squad was picked
seventh by Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) baseball coaches in the
league’s preseason poll released Friday(today). Guilford received one of 10
first-place votes and 44 points in the poll. Bridgewater College, the 2010
ODAC Champions, received four first-place votes and is picked first.
Randolph-Macon College received the most first-place votes (5) and is picked
second.
Sixth-year head coach *Nick Black ’02 *returns with 27 letter
winners from last season’s group that went 14-23 overall, 5-13 in the ODAC,
finished the season in ninth place. The Quakers have added a number of
freshmen and new assistant coaches for 2011. *Daniel Hadra* is Guilford’s
first full-time pitching coach in three seasons. He pitched 57 career games
and recorded a 14-13 record at league-rival Hampden-Sydney College. *Tommy
Grayson ‘67 **returns to the coaching staff as a hitting and infielders’
coach. **Grayson**, a two-time NAIA Baseball All-American, is a member of
the Guilford Athletics Hall of Fame. Former Guilford players **Alex Starbuck
** **‘10** and **Michael Blocher** **‘11 **will also help this season after
completing their eligibility last year. *
*Seniors** Kyle Wooden **and** Zach Daw **lead the way for the Quakers this
season. **Wooden*, a first baseman, finished 2010 with a team-best eight
homers and posted club highs in slugging percentage (.651) and RBIs (33). He
was a 2009 American Baseball Coaches’ Association (ABCA) Second Team
All-American after leading NCAA Division III with a school-record .514
batting average. *Daw *led the 2010 pitching staff with career-best marks in
opponents’ batting average (.260) and earned run average (3.23), which
ranked third and fifth in the ODAC, respectively.
The Quakers open their season this weekend as they host Piedmont College
Sunday at 1 p.m. and Monday at 2:15 p.m.
*2011 ODAC Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll*
*(first-place votes in parentheses)*
*Place Team Points*
1. Bridgewater 90 (4)
2. Randolph-Macon 88 (5)
3. Virginia Wesleyan 80
4. Lynchburg 75
5. Hampden-Sydney 54
6. Washington and Lee 50
7. *Guilford* *44 (1)*
8. Eastern Mennonite 32
9. Roanoke 23
10. Emory & Henry 14