GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College and Berry College split a nonconference baseball doubleheader Friday at McBane Field. The Quakers rallied to win the opener, 10-9, and the Vikings took the nightcap, 10-1.
In game one, Berry (1-1) grabbed a 6-1 lead after three-and-a-half innings thanks to three Guilford errors and two RBI apiece by Ben Jernigan and T.C. Boyd. Boyd's two-run single in the third opened the five-run margin and chased Guilford starter Borja Jones-Berasaluce.
Guilford responded with a run in the home fourth on Mo Keene's RBI single. The Quakers tacked on three runs in the fifth, two on Charles' Noble's two-run single. Chase Massey and Corey Wallace both delivered two-run hits in Guilford's five-run sixth inning, which capped the comeback.
The Vikings scored three times in the top of the seventh inning before Guilford's Avery Rogers fanned Zach Farmer and John Macon Smith tracked down Alex McGill's game-ending line drive to right. Dusty Tyson plated two of the runs with a double down the left-field line.
Massey, Keene and Wallace were three of five Quakers with two hits. Massey and Wallace both added two RBI and Noble finished with a personal-best three RBI. Rookie John Todd (1-0) earned the win in his first college appearance. He scattered two hits and fanned four in three-and-a-third innings.
Boyd's game-high three hits and Tyson's three RBI paced the Vikings' 12-hit attack. Tyson and Austin Neely both had two hits. Reliever Chad Busby (0-1) took the loss.
Berry smacked three home runs in game two and got solid pitching from sophomore starter Ben Jernigan and rookie reliever Joey Bell. Kevin Scott's two-run blast highlighted the Vikings' three-run first.
Guilford's Smith led off the fourth with an inside-the-park home run to dead center field, but the Quakers did not get a runner past second for the rest of the game. Jernigan (1-0) retired the first seven Quakers and finished with five strikeouts. Bell struck out three and yielded three singles for a three-inning save in his college debut.
McGill hit a three-run homer off of Guilford starter Drew Crawford (0-1) in the fourth, ending the day for the Quakers' senior. Farmer followed and greeted reliever Chase Shuford with a solo home run, which opened a 7-1 Berry lead. McGill, Tyson and Scott had two hits apiece for the Vikings.
The teams play again Saturday (2/8) at 1:00 p.m. at McBane Field.