LYNCHBURG, Va. – Nick Snow’s unearned run in the bottom of the ninth gave Bridgewater College a 2-1 win over Guilford College Thursday in game two of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Baseball Tournament at City Stadium.
The win sends the second-seeded Eagles (28-12) into Friday’s (4/27) tournament Game Six against the winner of Thursday night’s contest between Emory & Henry College and Randolph-Macon College. The fifth-seeded Quakers (21-19) meet sixth-seeded Hampden-Sydney College Friday at 11:00 a.m. in the six-team tourney’s first elimination game. Hampden-Sydney lost to top-seeded Lynchburg College, 8-1, in Thursday’s opening contest.
Snow, who had three hits, led off the bottom of the ninth with a well-placed bunt single to shallow second base and took second on Ben Esser’s overthrow. The next batter, Donnie Fulk, dropped a bunt single just in front of home plate. Pitcher Will James fielded the ball, but his throw sailed just over first baseman John Macon Smith, which allowed Snow to score the winning run.
Guilford’s Kent Peterson opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first, but Bridgewater’s Kevin Chandler (7-1) yielded only four hits the rest of the way in his fifth complete-game of the season. Guilford’s best threat was in the top of the fifth when Jordan Slate was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on a D.J. Phillips single. Fulk came up with the ball and made a strong throw from left field that narrowly beat Slate to end the inning.
Fulk’s sacrifice fly plated Bridgewater’s first run in the bottom of the third inning. Jay Thompson opened the frame with a single, took second on Darren Yoder’s sacrifice and moved to third on a Snow hit. Fulk followed with his sacrifice fly to left, which Guilford converted into one of its two double plays to end the inning.
James (2-5) threw arguably his best game of the season for Guilford. The junior right-hander held Bridgewater to four hits through the first eight innings and struck out two a complete-game effort. Guilford’s Phillips had two of the Quakers’ five hits.
Bridgewater – 2
Guilford – 1
Apr 26, 2012 at Lynchburg, VA
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Guilford............ 100 000 000 - 1 5 2 (21-19) Bridgewater......... 001 000 001 - 2 6 0 (28-12) ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Guilford – Will James and Gabe Mirabelli. Bridgewater – Kevin Chandler and Devon Snow.
Win-Kevin Chandler(7-1)
Loss-Will James(2-5)
T-1:47
A-134
Weather: Cloudy, 50s
Game notes:
Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament – Game 2
James faced 2 batters in the 9th.
Game: GCB-40