ASHLAND, Va. — Randolph-Macon College, ranked fourth in the current NFCA Poll, got all it could handle from Guilford College on Sunday. Yet the Yellow Jackets edged the Quakers 4-3 in eight innings, and 2-1 in the nightcap.
RMC improved to 35-3 and 14-2 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. GC dropped to 17-22 and 5-13 in the ODAC.
In game one, Guilford scored one run in the sixth to tie the game at 1-1. Kayli Blankenship led off the inning with a double. Savannah Yale (3-4, HR, 3 RBI) later singled her home.
In the eighth, Blankenship (2-4, 2 runs) was placed on second for the tiebreaker rule. Yale then homered to left field to give the Quakers a 3-1 edge.
In the bottom half, however, Randolph-Macon tallied three times to win the game. The game-winning hit was a two-out double, which scored two runners by Taylor Sanderford (2-3, 2 RBI).
The double was a lone extra-base hit allowed by losing pitcher Julie Gough. She pitched 7 2/3 innings and scattered 12 RMC hits. Candace Whittemore (15-3) earned the victory. She gave up eight hits, but struck out 11 and allowed just one walk.
Whittemore and Kerstin Roth both collected three hits in the contest.
In the second game, GC outhit RMC, 5-4. The Quakers scored first in the second frame after Yale reached on an error and came home on a passed ball for an unearned run.
The Yellow Jackets tied the score two innings later after Harley Wood doubled and was brought home by a single from Harley Jones.
Courtney Lackey started the game and allowed one run in five innings. Katie McNeill (3-3) suffered the defeat after giving up the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Sami Davidson singled and was replaced by pinch-runner Sarah Cimring. A wild pitch and sacrifice moved her to third base. McNeill allowed another wild pitch, which scored Cimring.
Kayley Scott improved to 9-0 in the pitching circle for Randolph-Macon. She allowed five hits, struck out eight and gave up no walks. Wood had two hits in the game for the home club.
For the Quakers, Makayla Crawford and Katy Holt both recorded a double.
The Quakers now prepare for the ODAC Championship Tournament. The event begins Friday (4/27) at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va.