College Softball Finals – Guilford 7-5, Eastern Mennonite 4-4

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Calli Pastor’s walk-off single in the eighth inning gave Guilford College a 5-4 softball win over visiting Eastern Mennonite University Saturday at Haworth Field.

The victory capped the Quakers’ (21-3, 4-2 ODAC) sweep of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) doubleheader after Guilford won the opener, 7-4.

Rookie reliever Rebekah Langston improved to 7-0 with the win. Langston replaced Casey Snead with two out and the bases loaded in the fifth inning, in which the visiting Royals (5-9, 0-2 ODAC) scored four times to tie the game. After walking in the tying run, Langston retired six straight batters. She stranded runners at the corners in Eastern Mennonite’s eighth inning and finished with three strikeouts in 3.1 scoreless innings.

Pastor had with a game-high three hits, including an RBI double in the first inning that opened a 2-0 Guilford lead. Senior Cynthia Hayes (Seagrove, N.C./Southwestern Randolph) extended her hitting streak to a school-record 31 games with two hits, including a second-inning double.

Molly Smith and Brooke Sigrist paced the Royals with two hits apiece. Jordan Aylor (2-5) had five strikeouts and a single in the complete-game loss.

Guilford’s four-run third inning erased an early 3-0 deficit in the opener, but Brooke Hensley’s two-out, RBI single in the sixth tied the game at 4-4. The Quakers responded with three runs in the home sixth, including Rachel Howard’s go-ahead, bases-loaded single. Marty Wilcox followed with a bases-loaded walk before Smith relieved Royals’ starter Cara Neikirk (3-2). Taylor Boyd welcomed Smith to the circle with a run-scoring single to left, which provided the game’s final margin and Boyd’s game-high third RBI.

Sophomore Maggie Shaffer (9-2) notched her team-leading ninth win and sixth complete game of the year. She fought through six walks and a hit batsman, plus five hits in seven innings. Brooks Bray’s (Thomasville, N.C./Ledford) three hits paced the offense. Boyd and Hayes both added two hits.

Eastern Mennonite’s Hensley was two-for-two with a run batted in. Mariah Foltz delivered a two-run double in the Royals’ three-run first.

Guilford hosts league-rival Shenandoah University Saturday (3/29) in a noon doubleheader.

Game 1

                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R  H E
   Eastern Mennonite   3 0 0 0 0 1 0 4  5 3
   Guilford            0 0 4 0 0 3 X 7 10 0

Win – Shaffer (9-2)
Loss – C. Neikirk (3-2)
Save – None.

Umpires – HP: Carl Boelte 1B: Haywood Dilihunt
Start: 1:00 pm Time: 1:50 Attendance: 50
Weather: 67, partly cloudy
Game notes:
Old Dominion Athletic Conference game

Game 2

                       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
   Eastern Mennonite   0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 4 9 1
   Guilford            2 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 5 9 3 

Win – Langston (7-0)
Loss – J. Aylor (2-5)
Save – None

Umpires – HP: Haywood Dilihunt 1B: Carl Boelte
Start: 3:15 pm Time: 2:30 Attendance: 125
Weather: 67 light breeze
Game notes:
Old Dominion Athletic Conference game