Shoemaker Lifts Baseball to Much-Needed Breakeven Day Against Bridgewater
Quakers respond with dramatic game two win in split
from Bryce Johnson, Director of Athletic Communications at Guilford College
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Chris Shoemaker (Winston-Salem, N.C.) bashed a single off the base of the McBane Field wall in rightfield, allowing Grayson Tudor (Reidsville, N.C.) to score from second in the bottom of the eighth as the Guilford College baseball team (18-12, 6-10 ODAC) finished their doubleheader against Bridgewater College (21-10-1, 11-4-1 ODAC) on a high note, securing a critical Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) split by winning the second game, 6-5 after dropping the early contest, 9-3 on Sunday afternoon.
In the game one start, Marcello Ricigliano (Kernersville, N.C.) battled, allowing four runs, three of them earned in the second and third innings, but still navigated through 5.2 frames allowing just those runs. The junior allowed eight hits and five walks against one strikeout but never ended up off the hook, falling to 0-4.
Cam Nuckols got the game one victory improving to 4-2 for the Eagles. Completing 6.0 innings of one-run baseball, he permitted just five hits and one walk while fanning five.
Guilford was limited to just seven hits as a team in the early game, two of them by Rylan Smith (Archdale, N.C.) who also connected on their lone extra-base hit, a double, adding a walk, scoring once, and driving in one RBI. Skyler Dark (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) singled, walked, stole a base, and scored for GC. Ryne Rodrigues (Summerfield, N.C.) scored the third Quaker run while Jordan Burrough (Greensboro, N.C.) and Christian Chinen (Honolulu, Hawaii) each drove in a run.
Bryce Suters had a pair of doubles among his three hits, scoring twice as BC’s top source of runs. Nick Stavros bashed a three-run home run among his four hits and a walk. Zack Chadwell was certainly circled on the Quaker scouting report as he walked three times while also going 2-of-3 with two doubles, he only scored once and drove in one run.
Guilford handed the ball to Jacob Phillips (Browns Summit, N.C.) in game two and he did not allow an earned run, although he did permit three of the unearned variety over 5.0 innings of work. He struck out four against seven hits and three walks but did not factor into the decision. Chase Wade (Archdale, N.C.) earned the victory in relief throwing the final 1.1 innings allowing two hits against two strikeouts to improve to 4-0.
Evan Bert also did not factor into the decision for the Eagles, also lasting 5.0 innings he allowed two runs, both earned, on three hits and four walks. Taking the loss in relief was Gary Tompkins who allowed the go-ahead run on a walk and a hit with a strikeout to drop to 3-1.
Tudor was productive, reaching in three of his four plate appearances, scoring twice and driving in two. Smith had two more hits and a walk in game two, driving in a run and adding a double. Carter Blum (McLeansville, N.C.) added a pair of hits and had a crucial sacrifice, scoring once as well.
Trent Holland provided three runs for the Eagles in the late game on a double, BC’s lone extra-base hit in game two, along with two walks. Stavros stayed hot as well, as he was not retired, collecting three hits and two walks, scoring once and driving in another. Chadwell added the final RBI and scored once on a 2-for-4 day.
GAME 1
Guilford got on the board quickly against reigning ODAC Pitcher of the Week, Cam Nuckols. Skyler Dark (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) reached on a five-pitch walk leading off, then stole second on a hit-and-run without the hit. Rylan Smith (Archdale, N.C.) smoked a double to the left-centerfield gap to score the run two batters later and GC had a lead after one.
The Eagles countered in the top of the second as Trent Holland walked and Ashton Smith singled on a hit-and-run. Bryce Suters got them on the board, shooting the 7-8 gap for a double to plate both runners. He came home when Camden Herron rolled one over to third that scooted under Rylan Smith’s glove for an unearned run and while Marcello Ricigliano (Kernersville, N.C.) avoided further damage, the guests had claimed an edge. They added another on Suters’ second RBI-double in as many innings in the third, as the Eagles advantage was extended to 4-1 a third of the way through.
Both pitchers settled in, Ricigliano navigated traffic but avoided harm while Nuckols set down 11-straight Quakers after the Smith double. Bridgewater would eventually break the game open in the top of the seventh against the GC bullpen. Jake Harris and Zack Chadwell each connected on run-scoring doubles, but the big swing was a three-run home run by Nick Stavros in between those. Meanwhile, the Guilford offense could not string anything together. They got three hits in the sixth but a caught stealing mixed in limited their threat. They later got a couple runs on a Jordan Burrough (Greensboro, N.C.) sacrifice fly and a Christian Chinen (Honolulu, Hawaii) infield hit in the ninth and the early contest ended in a 9-3 score.
GAME 2
Like the early game, GC opened the scoring in game two, albeit this time in the second inning. Grayson Tudor (Reidsville, N.C.) walked and Carter Blum (McLeansville, N.C.) singled with one out. The second out was recorded, but the battery of Evan Bert and Jake Harris had some misconnects with back-to-back wild pitches that allowed Tudor to cross the plate. Trae Pitts (Land O’ Lakes, Fla.) worked ball four putting men on the corners for Skyler Dark (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) who fell behind 0-2. He swung and foul tipped what was initially ruled as strike three, but then the base umpire came in and declared that the foul ball hit the dirt before the catcher squeezed it. Dark took advantage of the new life, lining a single into right to score Blum and make the score 2-0.
Nick Stravros singled with one out in the third for BC, and was caught stealing, but it did not deter the Eagles from spoiling the Quakers’ shutdown inning bid. Lucas Bauer walked and Zack Chadwell got hit by a pitch before Chandler Valbak rolled over what appeared to be the third out to Rylan Smith (Archdale, N.C.) who initially looked to get the force out. With the runners on the move on the 3-2 pitch with two outs, however, Smith got halfway there and deemed he’d lose the footrace so then tried to set and throw to first but his toss sailed, loading the bases on the error. Like Dark the inning prior, Trent Holland capitalized on the second chance, clearing the bases with low line drive double to center, clearing the bases and thrusting Bridgewater into the lead, with a trio of unearned tallies.
Things were quiet until the bottom of the sixth when Smith opened with a two-bagger, but he got caught in no-mans-land on a comebacker hit by Aaron Williams (Mocksville, N.C.), who reached on a fielder’s choice. Ryne Rodrigues (Summerfield, N.C.) rolled over a possible two-ball, but the throw by Holland got away, as both Quakers advanced an extra 90 feet. Tudor flipped the game on its head, splitting the gap in right-center with a double and putting the Quakers in the driver’s seat, 4-3.
GC added insurance in the bottom of the seventh inning. Collin McGuire (Wilkesboro, N.C.) worked a pinch-hit walk with two outs and was pinch run for by Hayden Sekanick (Tampa, Fla.) who immediately advanced on a wild pitch. Smith came through, roping a hit back through the middle and into center, scoring Sekanick.
Jackson Marcellus (Chapel Hill, N.C.), who had been shutdown his first two innings, ran into trouble in the eighth. Bryce Suters singled to open the inning before the graduate student got the first two outs, one of which was a groundout that advanced the runner. Stravros drove him in with a single, went first-to-third on a Bauer hit, then Chadwell singled off Chase Wade (Archdale, N.C.), leveling things at five although Wade fanned Valbak to get out of the jam.
The Quakers would piece together a run to take the lead for good in the home half as Tudor drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed up to second by Blum. Two batters later, Chris Shoemaker (Winston-Salem, N.C.) singled off the base of the rightfield wall, sending the GC dugout into a riot. Wade slammed the door in the ninth as Guilford finished the 6-5 win.
The Quakers hit the road for a six-game road stretch until Senior Day Saturday. The first of that span will be on Tuesday, April 15th when GC will battle Carolina University in a makeup game from March. First pitch in Winston-Salem is set for 2:00 PM.
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