College Baseball Finals – Guilford 7-6, William Peace 6-0

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Seniors Lou Trosch and Avery Rogers combined to shut out William Peace University in the second game of Guilford College’s baseball sweep of the visiting Pacers Saturday.

The Quakers (13-22) avenged Friday’s series-opening setback to William Peace (4-28) with 7-6 and 6-0 victories. Both games lasted seven innings.

Guilford hung on for a 7-6 opening-game win after the Pacers rallied with four runs in the final three frames. A.J. Girting’s two-out RBI single in the fourth inning opened a 6-2 Quakers’ edge, but William Peace got one run back in the fifth on Jacob Ennis’ two-out, RBI single. The Pacers took advantage of a sixth-inning Quakers’ error to score two unearned runs and pull within 6-5, but Guilford’s Tyler Petersen smacked an RBI double in the sixth for a 7-5 cushion entering the final frame.

William Peace pulled to within one again thanks to another unearned tally in the seventh. After the sixth run score, the Pacers’ Nick Cole kept hope alive with a two-out single. Guilford’s Andrew Martin replaced reliever Chase Shuford and fanned Trey Hathaway to end the game and collect his second save of 2015.

Guilford’s Jacob Roberts had two hits and two RBI in the opener and Petersen added two RBI. Austin Wilson also had two hits for the Quakers. Cole’s three hits paced William Peace’s offense.

Trosch (2-3) and Rogers worked around 10 William Peace hits, two walks and a hit batsmen for Guilford’s third shutout of the season. The pair stranded 11 Pacers on base. Nick Blackwood ‘s two-run, first-inning single highlighted a five-run opening frame that supplied all the offense the Quakers needed.
Blackwood led the Quakers’ offense with two hits and three RBI. Herc Ingels, one of Guilford’s six seniors honored between games, added two hits and scored once.

Ennis, Christian Neal and Trey Hogan each had two hits for William Peace.

Coach Nick Black’s ’02 Quakers host Piedmont College of Georgia Tuesday (4/21) at 3:00 p.m. in a contest rescheduled from February.