College Softball Final—Guilford 11, Randolph 3 (ODAC Tournament—Day One)

SALEM, Va.—Guilford College (28-13) matched their program-best single-season win total, earning an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament victory over third-seeded Randolph College, 11-3, in five innings at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va. The tournament win marks the first for the Quakers since the 2009 season when Guilford defeated the WildCats, 4-1.

Both teams traded runs in the first inning with the Quakers posting a run in the top of the first frame. The WildCats posted two runs in the bottom half of the inning before Guilford’s starting pitcher Maggie Shaffer seized control, stranding two Randolph base runners with two outs.

After both Shaffer and WildCat starter Logan Carter dominated the second inning, Guilford produced a three-run rally, sparked by a Brooks Bray lead-off triple. The Quakers continued their three-inning rally with a seven-run fifth inning, five of those runs driven in with two outs. Randolph looked to extend the game with a run in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a Jessica Nowak RBI-single with two outs, but Shaffer picked up her fifth and final strike out of the night to secure the win after five innings.

Marty Wilcox drove in three runs, all on her tenth home run of the season that capped the seven-run rally in the bottom of the fifth inning. The junior tied the program record for home runs in a single-season and earned a share of the league lead.

Cynthia Hayes (Seagrove, N.C./Southwestern Randolph) finished 2-for-2 with three RBI, including a two-RBI single that set up Wilcox’s three-run home run the next at-bat. The senior second baseman drove in her first run of the evening on a sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning. Hayes also knocked her league-leading 20th double of the season to lead off the game.

Rachel Howard’s first triple of the season drove in Hayes in the top of the first stanza, knocking her 34th RBI of the season down the right field line.

Calli Pastor also finished with three RBI, driving in her first run off a fielding error with one out in the top of the third inning. Pastor sparked the seven-run rally in the fifth inning with a two-RBI single.

Randolph’s Hannah Cook gave the WildCats an early lead in the bottom of the first inning with a two-RBI double for her lone hit of the evening.

Shaffer (13-6) took the win for the Quakers, her tenth complete-game victory of the season, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out five batters.

Randolph’s Logan Carter (16-7) took the loss, throwing four and two-thirds innings before Hannah Winfree relieved Carter to record the final out in the top of the fifth inning.

With the opening day of the ODAC tournament delayed roughly four hours because of thunderstorms, the Quakers have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to continue in the winner’s bracket of the ODAC Tournament. Guilford looks to advance in the winner’s bracket, facing the second-seed Lynchburg College tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. inside the Moyer Sports Complex.