March 10, 2019

Nickles, Roth Lead #6 R-MC Baseball to DH Sweep at GC

More news about: Randolph-Macon

Batting

Randolph-Macon
2B: Mike Nickles
3B: none
HR: none
Guilford
2B: Tanner Hobbs 2
3B: none
HR: Ryan Hill
full stats

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Senior right-hander Nick Roth (Henrico, Va./Benedictine) earned a complete-game victory in the opener, and junior Mike Nickles (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) went 5 for 7 on the day with five runs and five RBI, as the sixth-ranked Randolph-Macon baseball team swept an ODAC doubleheader at Guilford on Sunday afternoon.

The Basics

Score: #6 Randolph-Macon 7-19, Guilford 3-2

Location/Venue: Greensboro, N.C./Edgar McBane Field

Records: R-MC 3-1, 2-0 ODAC; GC 5-9, 0-2 ODAC

How It Happened

Game 1

  • Roth (1-0) went the distance in the opener, his third career complete game. He scattered nine hits and allowed three runs with no walks and nine strikeouts.
  • Junior outfielder Ryan Duphorn (Erial, N.J./Paul VI) had a single to start the game, stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a groundout by senior second baseman Jeff Butler (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) to give the Yellow Jackets an early 1-0 lead. Junior first baseman Cole Grinde (Woodford, Va./Caroline) had a two-out single and scored on a double by junior catcher Reese Yeargain (Chester, Va./Benedictine) to make it 2-0. Yeargain would score on an error as R-MC took a 3-0 lead after one.
  • After the Quakers tallied single runs in the second and fourth, the Yellow Jackets added to their total in the fifth. Butler, Grinde and Yeargain drew one-out walks to load the bases. A fielder's choice by plated Butler, giving the visitors a 4-2 edge.
  • Junior shortstop Zach Evans (Fort Mill, S.C./Seneca) delivered a two-run single with two away in the top of the seventh as R-MC extended its lead to 6-2.
  • GC added a run in the bottom of the eighth before the Yellow Jackets answered in the ninth. Nickles had a double to center and came home on an error to give R-MC a 7-3 advantage.

Game 2

  • Junior Michael Zubovich (Chantilly, Va./Freedom) was the starter in the nightcap, going six innings with seven hits, two runs, no walks and nine strikeouts in raising his record to 2-0.
  • Nickles had a two-run double to highlight a five-run first for the Yellow Jackets.
  • Butler homered and Nickles added another two-run double in a seven-run second as the lead grew to 12-0. Junior Shawn Nickles (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) also knocked in a pair with a double in the second.
  • After GC had single runs in the third and fifth, R-MC answered in the sixth. Evans had a run-scoring double and came home on a base hit by freshman outfielder Spencer Pietruszynski (Williamsburg, Va./Jamestown) as the score went to 14-2. It was the first collegiate hit for Pietruszynski.
  • Junior infielder Daniel Wilkerson (Oxford, N.C./Kerr-Vance Academy) had an RBI single to spark a three-run seventh to make it 17-2.
  • Sophomore catcher Jacob Selden (Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass) added a run-scoring single in a two-run eighth as the advantage grew to 19-2.
  • The game was called after eight innings due to darkness.

By The Numbers

  • Nickles went 2 for 3 in Game 1 with two walks, two runs and one RBI. In the nightcap, he went 3 for 4 with three runs and four RBI.
  • Selden went 3 for 5 in the second game with two runs and two RBI.
  • Evans had two hits and three RBI in the nightcap.
  • Freshman first baseman JT Fitzpatrick (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) also had his first collegiate hit in Game 2.

Notes

  • The R-MC defense did not commit an error in the two games at Guilford. The Yellow Jackets have been error-free in three of their four games this season.

Up Next

  • Randolph-Macon will travel to N.C. Wesleyan on Tuesday, March 12 for a 3 p.m. contest.