Guilford Sets Program Record for Wins in a Season, Finishes 1-1 in Day Two of ODAC Softball Tourney

SALEM, Va. – Guilford College (29-14) set a new program record for wins in a season as the Quakers split two games Saturday in day two of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Softball Tournament. The Quakers began the day defeating second-seeded Lynchburg College, 9-0, in six innings. Guilford earned the right to face top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan College in the nightcap, falling to the Marlins, 9-0, in six innings.

Maggie Shaffer collected her 11th complete game victory of the season in her third shutout of 2014 in the afternoon contest. The sophomore pitcher bounced back twice after Lynchburg placed runners in scoring position in each of the first two innings. Shaffer retired the Hornets in the first inning with a pop fly and a strikeout to strand runners in scoring position, placed with one out. Lynchburg threatened again with runners in scoring position with two outs before Shaffer induced a ground out to end the inning. Shaffer gave up two hits in the final four innings of the game to preserve the shutout.

The Quakers put the winner’s bracket contest out of Lynchburg’s reach in the final two innings, scoring six unanswered runs, three a piece in the fifth and sixth frames. Guilford took advantage of four Lynchburg errors to produce six runs as a result of the Hornets’ miscues.

Marty Wilcox capped the victory for the Quakers with her 11th home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth stanza, driving home the final three runs of the game. The home run breaks the Guilford’s single-season home run record. The home run also capped Wilcox’s strong afternoon at the plate, finishing 3-for-4 while adding a triple.

Wilcox’s lead-off triple in the bottom of the third inning set up Rachel Howard, who drove Wilcox in during the next at-bat on the junior first baseman’s sixth home run of the season. Howard finished game 2-for-3.

Steffi Sides collected two RBI in the bottom of the fifth inning with a RBI-single, capping the three-run rally in the bottom of the fifth frame.

Top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan only yielded six Quaker hits in Guilford’s second game of the day in the winner’s bracket, jumping out to the lead, 3-0, after two innings. Guilford placed runners in scoring position with one out in the top of the second inning before Virginia Wesleyan gained control. The Quakers placed runners in scoring position again one inning later with two outs before Virginia Wesleyan retired the Quakers. The Marlins posted a four-run rally in the fourth inning and closed the game with a Season Dailey two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The home run capped Dailey’s 3-for-3 game that included a two-RBI single during the Marlins’ fourth inning four-run rally to add to her four-RBI evening.

Cynthia Hayes (Seagrove, N.C./Southwestern Randolph) was the lone Quaker with multiple hits on the afternoon, finishing two-for-three.

Shaffer (14-7) took the loss for the Quakers, giving up five runs on six hits while striking out two batters. Calli Pastor relieved Shaffer in the fourth inning, giving up two runs on three hits in two-thirds innings of work. Rebekah Langston threw the final inning plus, giving up two earned runs on three hits.

Virginia Wesleyan’s MacKenzie Creech (14-0) took the complete-game win, giving up six hits in six innings of work while fanning two batters.

The sixth-seeded Quakers will play in the final elimination game Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. between the winner of the elimination game between Lynchburg and fourth-seeded Randolph-Macon College. Sunday morning’s winner will advance to the championship game to face Virginia Wesleyan at 1 p.m.