GREENSBORO, N.C. – Dominic Pegues (Raleigh, N.C.) clobbered a first inning grand slam to set the tone, with Christian Chinen (Honolulu, Hawaii), Ryne Rodrigues (Summerfield, N.C.), and Rylan Smith (Archdale, N.C.) later joining him by leaving the yard for the Guilford College baseball team (12-13, 3-7 ODAC), beating up on (RV) Roanoke College (16-9, 4-6 ODAC) pitching in a 17-7 run-rule Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) victory at Edgar H. McBane Field on Wednesday afternoon.

Jonathan Sendziak (McLeansville, N.C.) was good but not great in the midweek start, going 4.0 innings allowing four runs, all earned, on seven hits and two walks, striking out two, though he did not qualify for the win. Stratton Barwick (Siler City, N.C.) came on in relief and got the victory instead, improving to 3-1 with 4.0 innings of three-run ball, although only one earned on four hits and an HBP.

Mason Roy was knocked around for the Maroons, falling to 0-1 after yielding eight runs, all earned, across 4.2 frames permitting eight hits, six for extra-bases, walking three, hitting another, and fanning two in the contest.

A day after racking up a season-high for hits, the Quaker bats came just a tally short of a season-high runs total largely thanks to the four homers, their most in nearly two years. Pegues drove in four runs, all on his longball, and scored three others, in a 2-4 game with a walk. Rodrigues raked up a 4-5 showing with his solo homer, scoring three times. Three of Smith's four RBI's came on his dinger, going 2-5. Chinen finished 1-3 with a walk and a HBP, scoring twice including his three-run longball. The biggest non-homerun swing was provided by Ethan George (Burlington, N.C.), a three-run double while his partner up-the-middle, Gavin Fleming (Gibsonville, N.C.), had four productive plate appearances out of five, going 1-2 with a couple walks and a sacrifice bunt, scoring twice and driving in one.

Hayden Giordano went deep for RC, scoring another run in a 2-4 game. Tyler Galloway had a triple and a double, scoring once. Michael Hetzel and Noah Donaho each had RBI-doubles, with Donaho adding a walk and Jorden Olivera singled and walked, scoring twice. Nate Price was the biggest standout, finishing 4-5 with a run scored and a run driven in.

Roanoke got on the board in the first against Sendziak. A Prince leadoff single was erased by a double play, but Donaho replaced him by drawing a two-out walk then Henzel plated him, hooking a double inside the rightfield line. The Quakers had an immediate answer, with Chris Shoemaker (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Rodrigues catching barrels on Roy's first two pitches of the game for a single and a double off the Greensboro Monster. Skyler Dark (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) filled the bases by drawing a four-pitch walk then Pegues brought everyone home in resounding fashion, crushing a 1-0 pitch over the Greensboro Monster just to the left of the scoreboard for his fourth homerun of the spring, a grand slam, thrusting the hosts in front through one inning of play, 4-1.

The guests got a swift chance to get one back in the second, with Galloway rocketing a leadoff triple to straightaway center but he would not score with GC instead getting a huge shutdown frame thanks to a strikeout, a foul out behind the plate, then a flyout. The guests did piece together a run in the third with Price poking his second hit the opposite way, advancing on a soft groundout then scoring on a double by Donaho. RC then got even in the fourth with a Galloway leadoff double and a couple of wild pitches advancing and scoring him. The second wild one was the fourth ball of a walk taken by Olivera as he proceeded to steal second then score on a Prince single to center, levelling things at four-all.

Rodrigues pushed the Quakers back in the driver's seat for good in the bottom of fourth. With two outs and a 1-0 count, he got a pitch he could drive, lifting one to the deepest part of McBane Field and out, just clearing the centerfield fence for his fifth longball, a solo shot to reclaim the lead. After a shutdown inning from Barwick, Guilford piled on in the fifth with a two-out rally. Fleming lit the spark by taking a five-pitch base on balls before Trevor Myers (Eastampton, N.J.) worked back from a two-strike deficit to rip one inside the third base bag for a double. Chinen was hit by a pitch setting the stage for George as the junior fell behind 0-2, battled back to a full count then with everyone getting a head start, split left-center for a double plating all-three tallies to extend the lead to 8-4.

Giordano got one back for the Maroons in the top of the sixth with his first homerun of the year before GC added on in the bottom of the frame. A Rodrigues single and Pegues double off the base of the Greensboro Monster put two in scoring position with one out. Smith singled past the diving third baseman to bring one in before a brilliant safety squeeze bunt by Fleming plated a second tally. Myers followed by launching what would have been his sixth homerun of the season over the Greensboro Monster, but upon appeal, it was deemed he used an illegal bat, wiping two runs off the board, though the advantage remained, now at 10-5.

Roanoke ended up getting a couple of unearned tallies back in the top of the eighth but GC slugged right back, wrapping this one up early. The legwork was done by a couple three-run homers, the first was absolutely demolished by Smith for his third homerun of the season, then later it was Chinen getting ahold of the first longball of his collegiate career. The Quakers did not relent from there, with Aidan McCandless (Burlington, N.C.) taking a walk, Cole Price (Summerfield, N.C.) getting hit by a pitch, both moving up on a wild pitch then Dark finished it up, singling into right, activating the run-rule with a "walk-off" knock and completing the 17-7 rout.

Guilford's tough week of league play in Greensboro continues on Friday, April 3^rd when they open up a split weekend set with No. 6 Shenandoah University at McBane Field. First pitch is set for 3:00 PM.

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