BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Guilford College and Bridgewater College split an Old Dominion Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday. The Quakers dropped the opener, 6-4, but rallied to win the nightcap, 4-3.
GC moved to 19-16-1 and 7-10 in the ODAC. The Eagles are now 19-17-1 and 7-12 in conference games.
In the opener, both teams had 12 hits. BC held a 5-2 lead before the visitors tacked on two runs in the eighth inning. Sam Gerald and Rocco Wilcox both singled to start the inning. Gerald came around after Will LaCount reached on a fielder’s choice. Brett Shapcott then drove in Wilcox for the Quakers’ final run.
The Eagles added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. The Quakers brought the potential tying run to the plate twice in their last at-bat, but Ryan Skadra retired the side. He earned the save after pitching the final two innings. Andrew Berry started, tossed seven innings and earned the win for Bridgewater. He allowed seven hits and had six strikeouts.
Trevor Denton (3-5) took the defeat for Guilford. He pitched seven frames and was relieved by Ty Walser, who worked the eighth inning. Denton allowed all six runs, but one was unearned. Josh Shepherd, Mitchell Stumpo, Gerald, Wilcox and Logan Shortt all had two hits in the contest. Gerald and Wilcox both had a double.
For BC, Austin Batten went 3-5 with a double. Teammate Chris King smacked a solo home run for the Eagles.
Stumpo (4-4) tossed a complete game and was the winning pitcher in GC’s 4-3 victory in the second game. He recorded eight strikeouts, walked one batter and scattered nine hits.
King hit a two-run homer in the seventh to tie the game at 3-3. In the top of the ninth, however, GC pushed the winning tally across. Gerald walked to lead off the inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Austin Wilson. He was moved to second on a groundout and went to third base on a wild pitch. He then scored after Dylan Tuttle reached on a fielding error. Stumpo retired all three batters he faced in BC’s last at-bat.
Denton led the Guilford offense after going 3-4 with two RBI. Jacob Talley, King and Cameron Stanley all had two hits for Bridgewater.
The Quakers play at Emory & Henry College on Tuesday. The ODAC game begins at 3 p.m.