Guilford Baseball Selected 10th in ODAC Poll

FOREST, Va. – Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) baseball coaches picked Guilford College 10th in their annual preseason poll released on Wednesday. The Quakers earned 38 points in the 12-team ranking. Randolph-Macon College collected nine first-place votes and topped the poll with 119 points. Reigning ODAC champion Shenandoah University (110 points, two first-place votes) sits second in the poll.

Guilford head coach Nick Black ’02 returns four starters and 19 letter-winners from last year’s 20-20-1 (8-12 ODAC) team. Centerfielder Brett Shapcott hit .304 with 22 RBI and 17 stolen bases
for GC in 2018. Fellow senior Mitchell Stumpo batted .304 and had 47 hits. Juniors Dylan Tuttle (.375 in 64 at-bats) and Logan Shortt (.353 avg., 19 hits) also return for the Quakers.

Stumpo is the team’ top returning arm after finishing with a 5.71 ERA last year in 64.2 innings as a junior. Stumpo made 14 appearances, including nine starts, and finished with a 4-4 record. Junior Zach Dinkins (5-1, 4.82 ERA), a right-handed starter, also returns to the mound for the Quakers. Expect junior Ty Walser (1-1, 32 IP) and senior Rhett Miller (23 IP, 2.74 ERA) to also log innings on the hill.

The Quakers begin the 2019 season at the Huntingdon Firehouse Classic Tournament against Sewanee on Friday (2/8). Guilford then plays Huntingdon College on Saturday (2/9) and Berea College on Sunday (2/10). The team opens ODAC play March 9 at home against Randolph-Macon College.

2019 ODAC BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL (#) denotes first-place votes:
1. Randolph-Macon College (9) 199
2. Shenandoah University (2) 110
3. Roanoke College (1) 96
4. Virginia Wesleyan University 95
5. Hampden-Sydney College 76
6. Ferrum College 71
7. University of Lynchburg 57
8. Washington and Lee University 46
9. Bridgewater College 42
10. Guilford College 38
11. Eastern Mennonite University 24
12. Emory & Henry College 18