GREENSBORO, N.C. - It was a day dedicated to raising awareness and honoring the courageous fight of children and teens battling cancer, as Vs. Cancer partnered with the Guilford College softball team (12-18, 3-9 ODAC). The Quakers proudly wore their purple and gold ribbons to help spread the message and show their support. A split decision was made between Guilford and Ferrum College (11-15, 7-5 ODAC), 6-4 in favor of FC in game one before the Quakers declawed the Panthers in game two with a score of 6-1 at Haworth Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Game One:
The winning pitcher was Emily Wood (7-5) for FC as she completed the game with seven strikeouts, allowing four earned runs, surrendering 11 hits, and only walking one while
Shiloh Gray (Lexington, N.C.) (4-6), who went 2-for-4, was charged with the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits with four strikeouts in 8.0 innings pitched.
Guilford jumped ahead early with a two-run second inning, sparked by
Kalissa Williams's (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) leadoff double and an RBI double from
Chloee Stoner, (Salisbury, N.C.) who went 2-for-4 at the plate.
Corryn McCutchen (Carthage, N.C.) followed with an RBI single to plate Stoner and put the Quakers up 2-0.
Ferrum answered back in the third with a three-run homer by Sophia Peters to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead. The game remained tight with both pitchers working effectively through the middle innings.
GC tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when
Brooke Goyings, (Lake Villa, Ill.) who went 1-for-4, delivered a clutch RBI after singles from Stoner and Williams, going 2-for-3 with a double, to bring home
Nicole Gumula (Wellington, Fla.) to extend the inning. FC rebutted with Emily Hopper reaching first on a fielding error while Carsen Hogston advanced to third to then score on the error. The Quakers struck again in the seventh, with
Olivia Shelton (Stokesdale, N.C.) scoring the game-tying run on
Kaci Johnson's (Winterville, N.C.) sacrifice fly to send the game to extras.
Despite the momentum shift, Ferrum plated two unearned runs in the top of the eighth, taking advantage of two Guilford infield errors. Mirenda Shields and Riley Young delivered back-to-back RBI hits to make it 6-4.
Game Two:
In the circle,
Abbey Whelan (Gaithersburg, Md.) was graced with the win, tossing 5.2 innings, allowing just four hits and one unearned run while walking three and striking out one.
Dillon Northen (Kernersville, N.C.) came on in relief and closed up shop, securing her first career save. Wynema Thomas (1-2) was charged with the loss, allowing five runs (four earned) and seven hits over 4.2 innings. Amber Greiner finished the final 1.1 innings in relief, allowing one run and three hits.
The Quakers kickstarted their energy early on as
Riley Murrish (Boerne, Texas) came around to score on Johnson's RBI single in the first. Ferrum's hiccups and a string of assertive base-running plays helped Guilford break the 1-1 tie in the fourth.
Kaley Mitchell, (Lake Waccamaw, N.C.) who went 2-for-3 with an RBI, drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single, while Stoner and Gumula both crossed home plate during the chaos of consecutive throwing errors. Shelton, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, capped the inning with a sharp RBI single to left, giving Guilford a 5-1 lead. Shelton later added a run-scoring double in the sixth to seal the win. McCutchen also played a key role, going 1-for-2 with a double, a stolen base, and a run scored, while Stoner reached base twice and scored.
Young had two hits for the Panthers and scored their lone run in the second inning on an error.
See the Quakers back in action as they travel to Harrisonburg, VA to face the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University on Saturday, April 12. First pitch is set for 1 PM for game one while game two is aimed to start at 3 PM.
#GoQuakes
