College Softball News – Guilford’s Hayes and Wilcox Land All-ODAC Honors

FOREST, Va. – Guilford College’s Cynthia Hayes (Seagrove, N.C./Southwestern Randolph) and Marty Wilcox (South Charleston, W. Va./Charleston Catholic (Florida Southern)) earned First Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) recognition earlier this week. The selections were made by the league’s head softball coaches based on statistics accrued in conference games.

Cynthia Hayes 2014

Hayes, a senior second baseman, becomes the third three-time All-ODAC softball performer in school history, joining Ashley Cooke ’05 and Jennifer Franklin ‘05. She led the league in doubles versus ODAC foes, ranked fourth in the loop in on-base percentage (.536) and had the league’s fifth-best batting average (.446) in 20 conference games. In a school-record 44 contests overall, Hayes boasted the league’ top figures in batting average (.532), on-base percentage (.599), runs (63), hits (74), and doubles (23). She set school standards for runs, hits, doubles, and times hit by a pitch in a season (14). Through games of April 27, Hayes ranks sixth among NCAA Division III leaders in on-base percentage, seventh in batting average, and ninth in runs per game. Hayes had a school-record 31-game hitting streak and reached base in 41 straight games this season. She had 25 contests with two or more hits, including three four-hit efforts, and won the league’s Hitter of the Week Award Feb. 17.

The all-conference honor is the latest in Hayes’ illustrious career. An all-region and all-state performer, she concludes her career as the ODAC’s and Guilford’s career batting leader (.467). Hayes will graduate with school standards in on-base percentage (.522), runs (157), hits (211), doubles (41), and times hit by pitch (23). She also holds Guilford season marks for batting average (.598, 2013), slugging percentage (.805, 2013), triples (4, 2011), stolen bases (19, 2013) and times hit by pitch (11, 2014). A dean’s list student and resident advisor at Guilford, she will earn degrees in exercise and sports sciences and health science.

Marty Wilcox 2015

Wilcox, a junior in her second Guilford season, earned first-team laurels at the utility position. She started the year at shortstop, but finished in the outfield and also played as the designated player over a school-record 44 games. She ranked 12th among the league’s batting leaders in ODAC games (.362), fifth in hits (25) and eighth in RBI per game (0.80). Overall, Wilcox leads the league in triples (4), total bases (105) and RBI (51), all school records. She smacked a school-record 11 home runs, which ranks 21st nationally through games of April 27. Her slugging percentage stands fourth (.729) in the conference and her 58 hits are fifth-best. Wilcox led the Quakers with 13 multiple-RBI games, including a career-best six RBI contest in an April 18 win over Southern Virginia University. She captured the ODAC’s Hitter of the Week Award April 21 after hitting .800 with three homers and eight RBI in Guilford’s 3-0 week.

After two Guilford seasons, Wilcox has a .394 career batting average and .709 slugging percentage in 70 games. She ranks third in school history with 16 career home runs.

The pair helped coach Dennis Shores’ Quakers to their finest season in school history. Guilford set the school standard with a 29-15 record and took third at the eight-team ODAC Tournament. The Quakers set or tied at least 17 school or individual season records and return everyone save Hayes, the team’s lone senior, in 2015.