ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – Guilford College’s Courtney Lackey threw a complete-game shutout in game one while Makayla Carver threw a complete-game in the nightcap as the Quakers claimed a Wednesday afternoon sweep of North Carolina Wesleyan College. Guilford took game one, 2-0, and claimed the nightcap, 6-2.
Lackey fought off a bases-loaded jam in the first inning of game one as the Battling Bishops tallied two one-out singles in the frame. Lackey induced a Sarah Bowyer line out that turned into a double play to exit the situation unharmed.
The Quakers placed runners on first and third with two out in the top of the fourth inning after Caroline Barnette single put one runner in scoring position, but the Battling Bishops rallied to retire the Quakers. Guilford posted their runs one inning later in a two-run rally that came with one out. Natalie Conrad hit a sacrifice fly to center field to put the Quakers on the board. Sabrina Moreno followed by reaching on an error at third base, which drove home Carver to post a Guilford insurance run. The runs proved to be enough for Lackey, who allowed only one hit in the final three innings to seal the first win.
The Quakers first two runs of game two both came with two outs in the second and third inning in a rally capped by Barnette’s double down the left field line. Bowyer and Alicia Burns countered with a two-out rally of their own for N.C. Wesleyan in the bottom of the third inning as Burns’ single down the left field line capped the rally.
The Quakers pushed back with a three-run rally in the top of fourth inning, boosted by Conrad’s two-run double to right center field with no outs for Guilford’s second-straight double in the inning. Shelby Helms added a one-out RBI-single to extend the lead to three. A Makayla Crawford lead-off double in the sixth frame set up Jordan Starke to bring her home as Starke reached on an error to provided Guilford’s final run.
Lackey (6-1) only allowed six base runners in a complete-game win in the first contest, striking out three and walking one. Carver (3-1) struck out five and walked four in the complete-game win in game two where she also led the Quakers at the plate, hitting four-for-four with a double.
Logan Lowery (5-4) struck out eight and walked two in the complete-game one loss for the Battling Bishops. Shelby Godwin (2-4) took the game two loss in a five-inning effort where she walked three and struck out two while giving up 12 of Guilford’s 15 hits.
The Quakers travel to Shenandoah Saturday for an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.