HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, N.C. -- D.J. Phillips' two-out, RBI single in the top of the ninth plated the winning run in Guilford College's 6-5 baseball win at Hampden-Sydney College Saturday. The victory salvaged a split of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) doubleheader after the Tigers won game one, 4-2.
Hampden-Sydney (13-13-1, 6-5 ODAC) held a 5-4 lead after eight innings and had closer Luke Rabiej on the hill bidding for his second save of the day and his league-leading sixth of the season. He retired the Quakers' first two batters, but Kent Peterson singled for his third hit of the day to keep Guilford (13-14, 5-8 ODAC) alive. Wallace followed with a single and rookie Nathan Fulbright scored Peterson with another single. Phillips' hit made it four straight two-out singles and scored Wallace with the go-ahead run.
Guilford sent its closer, Tyler Tuttle, out in the bottom of the ninth. After yielding a one-out single to Jack Elliott, the senior induced Spencer Wiles into a game-ending double play for Tuttle's second save of the year.
Guilford's Wallace was 3-for-4 in the nightcap with an RBI. Peterson also had three hits and Fulbright had a game-and career-high three RBI. Justin Morrison (1-0) earned his first win of the season with three innings of relief. The sophomore did not allow a walk or an earned run and fanned two.
The heart of Hampden-Sydney's lineup, Hunter Lewis, Jeff Gray and Andrew Tucker, had two hits apiece. Lewis added two RBI. Rabiej (0-1) suffered his first loss of the season after locking up his league-leading fifth save in the opener.
Rabiej threw 2.1 scoreless innings of game one, preserving the Tigers' 4-2 win, which marked the 200th for head coach Jeff Kinne. Guilford's John Macon Smith singled against the senior southpaw, but Rabiej retired the next seven Quakers in order to close out sophomore Zach Whitaker's (4-2) team-leading fourth win of the year.
Hampden-Sydney scored the game's first three runs, two on a Beau Flinchum double in the first and another on Christan Hamlett's single in the second. Guilford's Jordan Slate had an RBI double followed by a Kent Peterson RBI single in the third inning, which brought the Quakers to within 3-2. Those were the lone hits yielded by Whitaker, the reigning ODAC Rookie of the Year. Nathan Chamberlin's pinch-hit RBI double in the eight added an insurance run for the hosts.
Slate tied a Guilford record with a career-high three doubles in the opener. Wallace added two hits, including a double, but the Quakers stranded eight runners against Whitaker and Rabiej. Guilford's Borja Jones-Barasaluce (2-2) scattered 11 hits and matched his season high with six strikeouts.
The Quakers return to action Tuesday (4/2) on the road against Roanoke College at 7:00 p.m.