Guilford Baseball Pair Lands ODAC Honors

Greensboro, N.C. — Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) baseball coaches recognized Guilford College’s Phil Drew (Mashpee, Mass./Mashpee) and Alex Starbuck (Kernersville, N.C./East Forsyth) on the league’s annual all-star and sportsmanship teams, league officials announced Wednesday. Drew earned honorable mention All-ODAC laurels for the second straight season while Starbuck represented Guilford on the league’s Sportsmanship Team.

Phil DrewPhil Drew

Drew, a 6-1, 195-pound senior, won Guilford’s McBane Hitting Award and led the team with a .340 batting average, 52 hits, four triples and 83 total bases. He started all 39 Quakers’ contests, 34 at first base, and usually hit fourth in Guilford’s batting order. Drew, who hit a team-best .384 in ODAC games, ranked second on the team with seven multiple-RBI games and 15 games with two or more hits. His team-high 323 putouts rank fourth in school history. Drew also stood among the Quakers’ leaders with 28 runs, 14 doubles, three homers and 25 RBIs, all career highs. He went four-for-four in a March 22 league game with Hampden-Sydney College and enjoyed a three-for-five outing with three RBIs versus Averett University Feb. 20. Drew captured his second career ODAC Baseball Hitter of the Week Award and Guilford’s Student-Athlete Player of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 18-24. He batted .467 with seven hits, including three doubles, and eight RBIs in a 4-0 week for the Quakers.

After four seasons, Drew stands second among the Quakers’ career leaders with 42 doubles and eighth with 177 hits. He compiled a .322 career batting percentage with 90 RBIs and 11 triples. Guilford’s starting first baseman, catcher and outfielder throughout his career, he had 706 all-time putouts and a .967 fielding percentage. He started all but 12 of his 148 games.

Alex StarbuckAlex Starbuck

Starbuck, a 5-10, 165-pound outfielder, finished second to Drew among the team’s hitting leaders with a personal-best .329 average. One of the team’s most positive members, he also set career standards with 29 runs scored, 15 doubles and seven sacrifice hits, all team highs. His 15 doubles stand fourth among ODAC leaders through games of April 28 and fourth in Guilford history. The Quakers’ starting left fielder and leadoff hitter, Starbuck had a club-best 16 multiple-hit games, including a four-for-four outing versus Eastern Mennonite University April 6. He had a career-high three doubles and two RBIs in the same contest. He takes a .289 career batting average with 23 doubles and 27 RBIs into his junior season.

Drew and Starbuck helped third-year coach Nick Black’s ’02 team to a 17-22 record, 6-12 in the ODAC. The Quakers expect 36 letter winners back in 2009, including Starbuck.