GREENSBORO, N.C. – With a clean line drive into rightfield, Skyler Dark (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) chased home Carter Blum (McLeansville, N.C.), lifting the Guilford College baseball team (4-0, 0-0 ODAC) to a game one victory, 6-5, before requiring far less drama in an 8-3 game two win to complete the sweep of Bob Jones University (2-6, 1-2 NCCAA) and improve to 4-0 for the first time since 2001 on Saturday afternoon at Edgar H. McBane Field.
Marcello Ricigliano (Kernersville, N.C.) did not get much help from his defense, but still got tagged for ten hits and a walk against four strikeouts allowing five runs, two of them earned, over 3.2 innings in his second start of the season, although he ended up off the hook. Bruins starter, Mac Carroll also did not factor into the decision, allowing four runs, three of them earned, on four hits and five walks, striking out four over 3.0-plus innings. Out of the bullpen, Jackson Marcellus (Chapel Hill, N.C.) entered and dominated allowing just a single hit against four strikeouts over the final 3.1 innings to pick up the win for GC and improve to 1-0. Jason Quillin went 1.2 innings allowing a hit, two walks, and a hit batsman leading to two runs, one of them earned. He was responsible for the winning run and took the loss to fall to 1-1.
Dark's lone hit was the game-winner, but he did also walk once, scoring a run and driving in two. Aaron Williams (Mocksville, N.C.) had two of the team's eight hits, including the only one for extra-bases with a double, finishing 2-for-3 with a run scored and a run driven in. Blum reached three different ways with a walk, a hit, and a HBP, scoring a pair of runs for GC in the first game. Four players had multiple hits for Bob Jones, led three apiece from Cayden Kennedy and Cody Kirkpatrick, the latter drove in two runs and scored one.
In the second contest, Jacob Ray (Burlington, N.C.) navigated tons of traffic over 2.0-plus innings allowing two hits, three walks, and one HBP, but he only ended up permitting just one run although he did not qualify for the win in his first start of the season. Instead, it was Jacob Phillips (Browns Summit, N.C.) who went the next 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball allowing two hits and two walks against four K's to get the win and improve to 1-0. Mackenzie Ritter got the nod for the guests and permitted eight runs, all of them earned, on five hits and five walks over 3.2 innings to take the loss and drop to 0-3.
Despite scoring eight runs, Guilford had just five hits as a team in game two. Christian Chinen (Honolulu, Hawaii) went 1-of-2 with a two-run double, a walk, and scored twice. Grayson Tudor (Reidsville, N.C.) also had a two-bagger driving in two runs and scoring once to go with a free pass. Rylan Smith (Archdale, N.C.) made the most of his lone hit of the game with a two-run homer and Dark walked, had a hit, stole two bases, scored once and drove in another run for the hosts. Evan Johnson was the lone Bruin with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 and scoring once. Angelo Gomez hit a double and drove in a run. Bryson French hit a triple driving in a run and scoring once as well.
GAME 1
Following a scoreless first inning by both sides, Bob Jones got on the board first in the visiting half of the second. Cody Kirkpatrick led off with a single and advanced on a sacrifice bunt. Mannix Crawford followed with a grounder to Carter Blum (McLeansville, N.C.), but it ate up the second baseman and Kirkpatrick scored. Another error, this one by Ethan George (Burlington, N.C.) and a walk loaded the bases before George partially made up for his miscue with a brilliant defensive play in the hole, getting the fielders choice at third as a run scored. Conley Burk plated the third unearned run of the inning with a single and while Marcello Ricigliano (Kernersville, N.C.) avoided further trouble, it was 3-0 in favor of the guests.
Guilford got one back in the third as Aaron Williams (Mocksville, N.C.) walked, advanced on another free pass, ahead of a balk, and he crossed the plate on a wild pitch before BJU added on in the top of the fourth. Loading the bases with a trio of soft singles, with strikeouts bookending the hits, the Bruins had a major threat and Kirkpatrick cashed in. Singling into center field, two runs scored and Ricigliano was chased in favor of Jackson Marcellus (Chapel Hill, N.C.) who extinguished the threat, albeit with a 5-1 score, and he shut the Bruins down the rest of the way, allowing just one more baserunner.
The Quakers closed the gap in the home half of the fourth with Blum opening with a walk, advancing on a balk, and then George singling. Skyler Dark (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) hit a possible two-ball, but an E4 plated the run and kept the momentum alive. After a pitching change, Williams split the gap in left-center to score George on a double and then a Rylan Smith (Archdale, N.C.) RBI groundout made it a one-run game.
That all set the stage for the seventh and final inning of this condensed game one, and it was an inning that Head Coach Zach Booker managed to perfection. Chris Shoemaker (Winston-Salem, N.C.) pinch hit to leadoff the inning and singled to right ahead of Blum who, while looking to drop down a sacrifice bunt, got hit by the pitch. Still a bunting situation, George had the chance to get his down and did, but the throw by relief pitcher Tillman Padgett was low and mishandled allowing Devin Tonkins (Greensboro, N.C.), who ran for Shoemaker, to score. That opened the door for Dark who ambushed the first pitch for his second-career walk-off hit and the game one win, 6-5.
GAME 2
Game two would not require a comeback as game one did for Guilford, as after Jacob Ray (Burlington, N.C.) navigated a bunch of traffic to throw two scoreless innings, GC jumped on Mackenzie Ritter and the Bruins. A pair of walks drawn by Collin McGuire (Wilkesboro, N.C.) and Gavin Fleming (Gibsonville, N.C.), then a fielders choice put two men on with two out before Christian Chinen (Honolulu, Hawaii) made the most of his first at bat as a Quaker. He bashed one off the base of the Greensboro Monster to plate both runs with a double before getting chased in himself on a Skyler Dark (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) single. A steal and a couple wild pitches brought Dark around the other 270 feet as GC seized a 4-0 lead.
BJU got on the board on a Angelo Gomez sacrifice fly thanks to some great heads-up baserunning by Evan Johnson, but that is all they would get before GC broke it open in the bottom of the fourth. Josh Howard (Salem, Va.) singled and Chinen walked putting two on with two out for Grayson Tudor (Reidsville, N.C.). He would go to the opposite field, splitting the gap in left-center to score both runners with a two-bagger. Rylan Smith (Archdale, N.C.) followed by jumping on the 1-0 offering, blasting it out to straight-away centerfield for the first home run by a Quaker this season, making the lead 8-1.
Bob Jones got two in the top of the seventh when Bryson French tripled home Max Lucien and then was able to score himself when the throw to third got away and into the Bruins dugout, but all that served was to make the score a little friendlier as Guilford completed the sweep with the 8-3 win.
GC hits the road for the first time next, heading to Pfeiffer University next to battle the Falcons at 5:00 PM on Tuesday, February 25th.
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