Ferrum Earns Pair of Wins Over Guilford Quaker Softball

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Guilford softball team suffered a pair of setbacks to ODAC foe Ferrum on Tuesday afternoon at Haworth Field. The Panthers put together a sixth-inning rally for the 5-1 win in the first game and followed that with a 6-3 victory in the second contest.

Game 1: Ferrum 5, Guilford 1

The Quakers (1-6, 1-6 ODAC) established a 1-0 lead in the second inning and played solid defense behind pitcher Katie McNeill (1-3) as they looked to claim their first home win of the season.

However, Ferrum’s offense caught fire in the sixth when Ashton Lambeth’s single to center field drove in Makayla Mill. Skyla Strohm kept the rally going when she sent a three-run home run over the center field wall, plating Caitlyn Wile and Kloe Bacon in the process. Keri Hamlett then reached on a fielding error, which allowed Arielle Eure to cross the plate for the fifth and final run of the game.

Ally Morales went 3-4 from the plate for Guilford, while McNeil tossed all seven innings, allowing seven hits, five runs (four earned runs), three walks and three strikeouts in the loss.

Lambeth went 2-3 at the plate with an RBI, and pitched all seven innings with eight hits, no earned runs and three walks to earn the win for the Panthers. Eure went 2-3 with a pair of doubles and a run. Hamlett went 2-4 with a double, two runs, two RBI and a stolen base.

Game 2: Ferrum 6, Guilford 3

In similar fashion to the first game, Guilford again posted the first run of the game, this time scoring two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Faith Fennell delivered a grounder to second, scoring Ally Morales for the 1-0 lead. Caitlyn Ray followed with a single to centerfield, plating Richardson for the 2-0 Quaker lead.

Ferrum retaliated with two runs in the third inning, scoring when Arielle Eure’s double to center field drove home Tori Scott. That was followed by Brianna Weaver’s single to third base that allowed Eure to score.

In the fifth inning, Keri Hamlett’s double to center field brought home Eure and Scott in succession. Swaney reached base two batters later on a fielding miscue which allowed Hamlett to cross the plate for the fifth Ferrum run of the afternoon.

Guilford cut the lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth when Fennell delivered a grounder to short that plated Emma Patterson. However, Swaney added an insurance run in the seventh when she laid down a sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning that scored Hamlett for the sixth and final run of the game.

Morales went 2-2 with a double and two runs for the Quakers, while Abigayle Rowell (L, 0-4) pitched all seven innings in the loss.

Ferrum was led at the plate by Eure, who went 2-3 with a double, two runs and an RBI, while Tori Scott went 2-3 with a pair of runs. Starter Erin Nelson (W, 3-5) pitched six innings to get the win, allowing seven hits three earned runs and two walks.

Guilford now heads to Virginia for a pair of games this weekend where they will face Eastern Mennonite (April 10th) and Bridgewater (April 11th). For more information on Guilford softball check out www.guilfordquakers.com.