Baseball Finals – Guilford 8-5, Eastern Mennonite 11-3

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Derek Hardison’s go-ahead single in the eighth inning helped Guilford College to a 5-3 win at Eastern Mennonite University Saturday and a split of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) baseball doubleheader.

The host Royals (8-18, 2-10 ODAC) jumped out to an 11-1 lead after four innings in the opener and hung on for an 11-8 victory.

Guilford (11-16, 5-5 ODAC) totaled 29 hits over the two nine-inning games. Senior Kyle Wooden had seven of the hits, including four in the nightcap. Eric Backus (1-0) notched his first win of the season with two and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief in game two. He gave up two hits and fanned five with no walks.

Beau Banglesdorf led Eastern Mennonite with three hits in the second game. His run-scoring single in the fifth inning tied the game at 3-3 after the Quakers opened a 3-1 lead.

Banglesdorf had two hits and two RBI in the opener, including a two-run single in the Royals’ seven-run second inning. Chris Harpine added a two-run double in the inning, which helped the hosts to an 11-1 lead after four innings.

David Thomson replaced starter Zach Daw (2-2) in the second inning and gave up one earned run in six and two thirds innings. The Quakers mounted a late-inning comeback, but Eastern Mennonite closer Thomas Worley fanned Bryan Bialecki with runners on the corners to preserve the victory.

Bialecki and Wooden both had three hits for the Quakers. Zack Montalbano went two-for-five with two RBI.

Dylan Smith paced Eastern Mennonite’s 15-hit attack in the opener with three hits. Banglesdorf, Harpine and Joshua Martin all had two hits in support of starter Andy Richter (1-6), who fanned six in seven innings.

Guilford visits Greensboro College Tuesday (3/29) night at 6:00 p.m. in NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro.

Eastern Mennonite 11, Guilford 8 (Mar 26, 2011 at Harrisonburg, VA) (Game 1)
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Guilford............ 010 020 221 - 8 14 4 (10-16, 4-5 ODAC)
Eastern Mennonite... 271 100 00X - 11 15 3 (8-17, 2-9 ODAC)
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Pitchers: Guilford - Zach Daw; David Thomson(2) and Will Cornelius. Eastern Mennonite - Andy Richter; Chris DeWald(8); Thomas Worley(9) and Dylan Smith.
Win-Andy Richter(1-6) Loss-Zach Daw(2-2)
T-2:33
A-80
Weather: 40, overcast

Game notes:
Old Dominion Athletic Conference game
A. Richter faced 1 batter in the 8th.
Game: GCB-26

Guilford 5, Eastern Mennonite 3 (Mar 26, 2011 at Harrisonburg, VA) (Game 2)
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Guilford............ 110 010 020 - 5 15 3 (11-16, 5-5 ODAC)
Eastern Mennonite... 000 120 000 - 3 11 3 (8-18, 2-10 ODAC)
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Pitchers: Guilford - B. Jones-Berasaluce; Eric Backus(7) and Will Cornelius.
Eastern Mennonite - Jason Tate; Thomas Worley(8) and Jonathan Estrada; Dylan Smith.
Win-Eric Backus(1-0) Loss-Jason Tate(1-5) T-2:32 A-80
Weather: 43, overcast
Game notes:
Old Dominion Athletic Conference game
J. Tate faced 4 batters in the 8th.
Game: GCB-27