College Baseball Finals – Guilford 3–8, Hampden-Sydney 6–5

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – Guilford College’s Josh Shepherd tallied five hits to lead the Quakers as Guilford earned a Saturday afternoon Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) split of Hampden-Sydney College. The Tigers took game one, 6-3, while the Quakers claimed the nightcap, 8-5.

The Quakers (22-17, 9-11 ODAC) came out swinging in game two, posting a three-run rally in the second and third innings. Joe Metts converted a one-out single to put the Quakers on the board in the top of the second inning. Guilford put the first three batters on base one inning later, and scored a run when Shepherd scored on a wild pitch. Trevor Denton capped the rally with a ground out to draw the first out of the inning while driving home a run.

Hampden-Sydney (21-17, 10-10 ODAC) countered with a Lane Wineset RBI-single in the bottom of the fifth inning in a frame where the Tigers singled twice before the Quakers turned a double play to get out of the inning.

The Quakers used a pair of doubles in the top of the seventh frame as Denton collected a one-out hit while Austin Wilson drove Denton home on a two-out extra-base hit as Guilford increased their lead. The Quakers posted a three-run rashly in the top of the eight inning, two of the runs coming after the first out. Mitchell Stumpo powered the rally with the middle run in the inning with a double.

After posting a run in the bottom half of the inning, the Tigers made a charge in the ninth, posting a three-run rally, two runs coming with one out. After Cory Allgood’s sacrifice fly and a walk, Stumpo came into the contest to pitch to strike out the last batter to seal the win.

Both sides engaged in a pitcher’s duel in the first four innings of game one as Guilford only yielded two hits from Hampden-Sydney. The Tigers gave up six hits and had to ward off two potential Guilford rallies, including the Guilford’s rally in the top of the third inning. Guilford placed runners at the corners with two outs after a Shepherd one-out single, but the Tigers recovered after a hit-by-pitch and a passed ball to retire the Quakers in the inning.

The Tigers mounted a five-run rally over the fifth and sixth innings as Jacob Fontana capped a three-run, two-out rally with a single in the fifth inning. Jayson Maitland sparked a two-run rally in the sixth frame with a single.

A Ryan Hill triple sparked the Quakers comeback in the top of the seventh frame after Charles Finney took a hit-by-pitch with one out. After Hampden-Sydney added a run in the bottom half of the inning, Guilford resumed their comeback bid with a two-run rally in the top of the eighth as the Quakers moved runners around before the first out. Rocco Wilcox and Stumpo helped the Quakers traded outs for runs, powering the rally.

Shepherd posted two doubles on his five-for-eight afternoon to lead the Quakers at the plate. Metts hit two-for-four in each contest, posting a game-two RBI while Andrew Brann also tallied four hits with one RBI. Brann led the Quakers in game one with a three-for-four effort.

Fontana finished game one two-for-four for Hampden-Sydney while Maitland finished game one two-for-three. Josh Duimstra led the Tigers in game two with a three-for-five effort.

John Todd (6-4) took the game one loss for the Quakers, walking two in five and two-third innings. Logan Jones (6-1) took the game-two win in a four-inning relief effort where he fanned four and walked two. Ty Walser earned the game-two start, giving up just three hits in four innings while striking out three. Stumpo collected his first save of the season, holding off a bases-loaded situation with the go-ahead run at home plate with two outs in the ninth inning.

Zach Perkins (2-5) took the game-one win for Hampden-Sydney, fanning six in eight innings. Matthew Metheny (1-4) took the game-two loss, striking out two and walking one in two and one-third innings.

The Quakers await results from other contests in the league to determine their participation in the ODAC Tournament, beginning this Friday.