GREENSBORO, N.C. – Held without a hit through four innings, the combination of Josh Howard (Salem, Va.), Jordan Burrough (Greensboro, N.C.), and Gavin Fleming (Gibsonville, N.C.) got the offense going and ultimately provided a big boost, driving in one-or-more run apiece for the Guilford College baseball team (14-6, 3-5 ODAC) as they completed the comeback win and the season sweep of Pfeiffer University (6-15, 2-4 USA South) with a 9-4 win on Wednesday night at McBane Field.
Jacob Phillips (Browns Summit, N.C.) allowed runs in four of the seven innings he pitched in, but never allowed any rally to get out of control. For his effort, he earned the win to improve to 5-0 after throwing 6.2 innings allowing four runs, three earned, on eight hits and two walks and matching his career-high of seven strikeouts.
Trent Lowe got the ball for Pfeiffer and was sharp, albeit limited. He was tasked with the first 3.0 innings and held GC scoreless and hitless while just walking two against one strikeout, but he would not factor into the decision. It would be Noah Cottone who was the third of six wings deployed by PU who ended up tagged for the loss to fall to 0-1 after only getting two outs in the fifth allowing five runs, all earned, on five hits and two walks.
Howard led the headliners for GC, going 1-of-4 with a walk, scoring once and driving in two. Burrough went 1-for-3 with an RBI before getting ran for by Devin Tonkins (Greensboro, N.C.) who went 1-of-1 with a run scored himself, and Fleming got Guilford's first hit, a double, scoring once and driving in one. While the bottom-third stole the spotlight, the top did plenty of damage as well. Grayson Tudor (Reidsville, N.C.) just keeps hitting with his fourth multi-hit game over the last eight contests, going 2-for-5 with a triple, a run scored and two RBI. Skyler Dark (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) went deep for the second-straight day, walking, scoring twice and driving in two. Collin McGuire (Wilkesboro, N.C.) reached in three of his four plate appearances via a hit and two walks as well.
Pfeiffer was restricted to just eight hits, including just two after the fourth inning in this one and half of those were accounted for by Hayden Furr and Austin Wood as they had two knocks each and the latter added an RBI. C.J. Acosta had a hit and a walk, scoring two of the four Falcon runs and Levi Barrett connected on their only extra-base hit, a double, and drove in a run on the day.
After a scoreless first inning, the Falcons would build a picket fence with singular runs the following three innings. They opened the scoring in the second when Acosta drew a one-out walk, Furr flipped a liner into right for a hit, and Wood singled through the left side of the infield to drive in the game's initial run. In the third Hunter Honeycutt drew a one-out free pass for the second-straight inning, advanced 180 feet on an errand pickoff attempt, and came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Wilson Lohrer. Finally, PU pieced together their run in the fourth with Acosta leading off with a single into left, Furr and Wood dropping down bunts that presumably were intended as sacrifices but they instead beat for hits, and Joe Javier hit a sacrifice fly to center.
Held hitless and scoreless through the first four innings, the Guilford offense errupted against Cottone in the bottom of the fifth. Fleming got the team's first hit to turn over the lineup, floating a two-bagger over first base. Tudor immediately picked him up, lining one to left-center that Thomas Ashby gave a diving bid for, but missed, scoring the run and allowing the senior to leg out a triple. He crossed the plate on a wild pitch that was also the fourth ball of a walk drawn by Dark before Rylan Smith (Archdale, N.C.) executed a perfect hit-and-run putting men on the corners. The first two outs were recorded although Smith swiped second along the way. Carter Blum (McLeansville, N.C.) walked to fill the bases with Quakers and Howard ensured the chance was not squandered, dumping a single into right to plate the tying and go-ahead runs. Burrough rocketed a single to left to score GC's fifth run of the inning before a pitching change brought the frame to a close, but the damage was already done as the home squad has secured a 5-3 advantage that they would never relinquish.
The Quakers added one in the sixth as Dark got ahold of an 0-2 offering and rode it out to straight-away right field for his second longball in as many days and his third of the season. Pfeiffer pieced one together in the top of seventh as Ashby beat in infield hit and stole second before advancing and scoring on back-to-back productive flyouts, and they threatened for more, but Stratton Barwick (Siler City, N.C.) entered and avoided further runs as the score stood at 6-4.
In response, Guilford broke the game open in the bottom of the frame. Blum reached on a fielding error and stole second before Howard drew a free pass and Tonkins dropped down a sacrifice bunt, but beat it for a hit to load the bases. Fleming brought in a run on a grounder, then Tudor did the same with an infield hit. The most excitement came next, when Dark drove a pitch to deep center, and while Ashby tracked it down, it was deep enough to not only advance Tonkins, but score him from second with a sacrifice fly, making the score 9-4. Barwick and Jack Ratliff (Greensboro, N.C.) took care of the rest, retiring the final six Falcons in order across the eighth and ninth to solidify the season sweep.
It will be back to Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play next when Guilford hosts Washington & Lee University for a pair on Saturday, March 29th. Game one begins at 12:00 PM.
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