ASHLAND, Va. – Junior Cole Migliorini (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) went 4 for 5 with a double, two runs and three RBI as the 11th-ranked Randolph-Macon baseball team thumped Hampden-Sydney 13-5 in ODAC action Wednesday afternoon on Hugh Stephens Field at Estes Park.
Junior Rick Spiers (South Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) was 3 for 5 with a double, two runs and two RBI for the Yellow Jackets (24-8, 12-4 ODAC), who snapped a six-game regular-season losing streak to the Tigers (18-15, 7-8 ODAC). Spiers extended his hit streak to eight games.
The reigning ODAC Player of the Week, Migliorini raised his overall batting average to .412. In conference games, he is hitting .500. Migliorini has an 11-game hit streak and has hit safely in 18 of the past 19 games.
R-MC has scored at least nine runs in seven of its past eight games. The Yellow Jacket senior class set a program record with 109 career victories, passing the total of 108 by the Class of 2016.
R-MC started the scoring in the bottom of the first. Freshman Ryan Duphorn (Erial, N.J./Paul VI) drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a bunt single by sophomore Jeff Butler (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) and scored on a double by Migliorini to give the Yellow Jackets the early lead. Senior Stuart Brown (Midlothian, Va./Trinity) delivered a two-triple and scored on a three-bagger by senior Jay Patti (Sparks, Md./Hereford) as the advantage grew to 4-0. Patti scored on a groundout by junior Joseph Tuzzolo (Newport News, Va./Menchville) and Duphorn added an RBI single to push the lead to 6-0.
The Yellow Jackets added on in the second. Spiers had a leadoff single and moved to second when Migliorini laid down a bunt single on the third base line. Brown sacrificed the runners into scoring position. Spiers scored on a groundout by Patti and Migliorini came home on a double by Tuzzolo as the lead grew to 8-0.
H-SC scored four unanswered runs over the next three innings to cut the lead in half before R-MC responded in the fifth. Sophomore Ian Pape (Stafford, Va./North Stafford) had a one-out single, moved to second on a walk to freshman Zach Evans (Fort Mill, S.C./Seneca) and advanced to third on a base hit by Duphorn. Butler and Migliorini had RBI singles sandwiched around a two-run double by Spiers as the margin grew back to eight at 12-4.
The Tigers tallied their final run in the sixth before Spiers singled with one away in the seventh, stole second and scored on a base hit by Migliorini to make the final 13-5.
Every starter had at least one hit for the Yellow Jackets and each starter either scored or drove in at least one run. Pape had three hits and two runs, while Butler and Duphorn both had two hits, two runs and one RBI. Brown, Patti and Tuzzolo each knocked in two.
Senior Nic Phelps (Richmond, Va./Mills Godwin) was the starter and winner, going 5.0 innings with nine hits, four runs, one walk and one strikeout to raise his record to 3-2. Junior Cody Thompson (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) worked the final four innings with two hits, one run, one walk and seven strikeouts to record his first save. Thompson struck out the side in each of the final two frames.
Randolph-Macon is scheduled to host top-ranked Shenandoah on Saturday, April 22 for a noon ODAC doubleheader on Hugh Stephens Field at Estes Park.