College Baseball Final – Piedmont 7, Guilford 3

DEMOREST, Ga. – Piedmont College’s bullpen held Guilford College to just four hits in the final four and two-third innings, claiming a Sunday afternoon victory over the Quakers, 7-3.

Piedmont claimed an early 4-0 lead through the first four innings as the Quakers were held to just two hits during that time frame. Guilford’s bats came alive in the fifth inning with a three-run rally as the Quakers ran both Lions starting pitcher Alex Astin and first reliever Ryan Stewart from the contest in the same inning. Piedmont’s pitching rallied, holding the Quakers to just one hit for the rest of the contest until the ninth inning as Guilford loaded the bases with one out as Josh Shepherd and Andrew Brann hit lead-off back-to-back singles to jump start the rally. Joe Metts added Guilford’s third single of the inning in a pinch-hitting role to load the bases, but the Lions induced a strike out and a ground out to secure the win.

Grayson Tuttle’s lone hit of the day was a two-RBI double to cap the three-run fifth inning. Brann started the rally in the fifth for the Quakers with a RBI-single with no outs as part of his two-for-five afternoon at the plate. Shepherd finished two-for-three while Jacob Roberts was the remaining Quaker player with a multi-hit afternoon, batting two-for-four.

Piedmont’s Evan Gresham finished three-for-four with two RBI thanks to a sixth-inning ground out and an eighth-inning single. Chris White was the other Lion with a multi-hit afternoon, batting three-for-four with one RBI.

Parks Smithey (0-1) took the loss for the Quakers in a three and two-third innings effort where he gave up three earned runs on seven hits while striking out six batters and walking four. Andrew Martin led the Quakers’ bullpen with a scoreless seventh inning where he gave up just one hit while facing four batters.

Matt Vonderschmidt (1-0) claimed the win in a two and two-third inning effort where gave up just one hit and walked one batter. Josh Thomas claimed his first save of the season, giving up three hits and striking out two batters in the final two innings of the contest.

The Quakers continue their opening three-game road swing Wednesday, traveling to the USA Baseball National Training Center for a 3 p.m. contest against William Peace University.