FOREST, Va. – Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) baseball coaches picked Guilford College 10th in their annual preseason poll released Wednesday. The Quakers earned 25 points in the 11-team ranking. Shenandoah University, the reigning ODAC champions, collected five first-place votes and tops the poll with 94 points. Randolph-Macon College placed second, followed by 2015 tournament runner-up Virginia Wesleyan College.
Guilford head coach Nick Black ’02 returns 12 starters (7 fielders, 5 pitchers) among 23 letter winners from last year’s 14-22 (7-13 ODAC) team. Sophomore infielder Josh Shepherd is coming off a strong rookie season where he hit .296 with six extra-base hits and 16 RBIs with a .419 on-base percentage. The Quakers’ lineup also returns four seniors who made strong contributions in 2015: A.J. Girting (.316 batting average), Chuck Noble (.248 average, 17 RBIs), Kyle Humphrey (.272 average, .414 OBP), and Jacob Roberts (.292 average, .386 OBP).
Junior right-hander Darin Salter is the Quakers’ top returning starting pitcher. He went 4-2 in 2015 with a 4.41 earned run average (ERA) and 24 strikeouts in 49 innings. Chase Shuford (1-6, 4.69 ERA) is another top returning arm for the Quakers. Fellow veterans John Todd, Nick Blackwood and Drew Martin are expected to contribute to Guilford’s pitching staff.
The Quakers begin the 2016 campaign, the 127th recorded baseball season at Guilford, with nonconference games this Saturday (2/6) and Sunday (2/7) at Piedmont College. Guilford opens its home schedule Feb. 13 versus Berry College and starts ODAC play March 5 on the road against Randolph-Macon.
2016 ODAC BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL (#) denotes first-place votes
1. Shenandoah (5) 94
2. Randolph-Macon (4) 90
3. Virginia Wesleyan (2) 88
4. Bridgewater 72
5. Roanoke 61
6. Hampden-Sydney 55
7. Lynchburg 48
8. Eastern Mennonite 33
9. Washington and Lee 26
10. Guilford 25
11. Emory & Henry 13