GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Guilford softball team earned its fourth straight win and seventh in its last eight contests on Wednesday, April 14th, when the Quakers (8-8) posted a pair of non-conference wins over William Peace (8-18) by scores of 5-0 and 3-2.
GAME 1: Guilford 5, William Peace 0
Guilford established its offensive power early in the contest, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the home half of the first. Kylie Richardson led off the frame with a single to center and Emma Patterson followed with a walk before a sacrifice bunt by Ally Morales moved the pair into scoring position.
Casey Bunting drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly and Caitlyn Ray doubled to left field, trading places with Patterson, who scored to give the Quakers a 2-0 advantage.
The Quakers enjoyed their second multi-run inning of the day in the second after Katey Griswold kept the inning alive with a two-out double into right centerfield. Richardson drove a single into left field, putting runners at the corners for Guilford. With Patterson at the plate a passed ball advanced Richardson to third and allowed Griswold to score, forging Guilford in front 4-0.
The fifth run of the game came in the bottom of the fifth when Bunting drove a one-out home run over the left field wall for the Quaker offense.
Guilford, which tallied nine hits in the game, was led at the plate by the trio of Richardson (2-4, 2 runs), Caitlyn Ray (3-3, RBI, 2 doubles) and Grace Calus (2-3).
Katie McNeill anchored the pitching staff, tossing a complete game, two-hitter as she improved to 5-3 on the slate. McNeill faced 24 William Peace hitters and closed with four strikeouts in the victory.
GAME 2: Guilford 3, William Peace 2
Knotted at 2-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Guilford’s Kylee Duarte got the offense kick started with double into left field. She moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Ally Morales. The Pacers issued back-to-back intentional walks to Casey Bunting and Alli Clemens, loading the bases with one out.
Lauren Bowman stepped in to deliver the game-winning run, which came when Duarte crossed the plate on a grounder to second, as Guilford won its fourth straight game, 3-2.
William Peace put the first run of the game on the board in the top of the first when Claire Boaz led off with a double to left. After moving to third on a sacrifice bunt, Boaz came home on a sacrifice fly to left field off the bat of Lauren Conway.
The Quakers evened the score at one-all in the bottom of the second after a home run over the left field wall by Amanda Gillis.
William Peace forged back in front, 2-1, in the fourth after Conway opened with a single to short, stealing second to move into scoring position. Teammate Nadia Pittman traded places with her, connecting on a double to centerfield.
Guilford again retaliated when Taylor Ledbetter opened the fifth by reaching on a hit by pitch. After moving to second on a wild pitch, Ledbetter slid to third on a grounder by Duarte. She scored when teammate Ally Morales singled to short, tying the game at 2-2.
The top third of the Guilford order, which included Duarte and Morales were responsible for four of the five hits. Both Duarte and Morales had two hits each in the victory.
Abigayle Rowell (3-5) notched her third win of the slate after scattering five hits and two runs over seven innings.
Guilford closes out the home portion of its schedule on Saturday, April 17th, when the Quakers host senior day. For more information on Guilford softball check out www.guilfordquakers.com.