GREENSBORO, N.C. – Rylan Smith (Archdale, N.C.) absolutely crushed a 1-1 pitch to the deepest part of Edgar H. McBane Field and out for a grand slam, putting the finishing touches on the highest scoring inning by the Guilford College baseball team (16-17, 4-11 ODAC) this season, and on an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) run-rule victory, 16-5 in eight innings over Averett University (12-18, 5-11 ODAC) on Wednesday afternoon.

Marcello Ricigliano (Kernersville, N.C.) shook off a tough first frame to complete 6.0 strong innings allowing five runs, all earned on 10 hits without a walk, striking out two in the winning effort, moving to 5-5. His afternoon's work on the mound brought his four-year total for innings pitched up to 232.2, cracking the top-five of the all-time program ranks for a career in that category.

For the second time this spring, GC's offense was all over Justin Godsey in a midweek conference start, with the right-hander managing just 2.1 innings and allowing six runs, all earned, on six hits and a walk, falling to 1-3.

Smith's grand slam was just the tip of the iceberg for the Guilford bats, as prior to his swing, Ryne Rodrigues (Summerfield, N.C.) was actually the headliner. Becoming the second Quaker this spring with a multi-homer game, he hit a pair of two-run shots along with an RBI single, matching his career-high for RBI's with five while also scoring thrice in a 3-5 outing. For a 16-run outburst, the GC run production was actually hoarded by just four men, with Trevor Myers (Eastampton, N.J.) driving in a trio in a 2-4 game with a double while Ethan George (Burlington, N.C.) added a three-run home run. The scoring was distributed well, though, as all-nine Quaker starters scored at least once, led by Christian Chinen's (Honolulu, Hawaii) three doubles and three runs scored and Dominic Pegues' (Raleigh, N.C.) 3-4 game with a walk, a double, and three runs scored.

Nathan Michalowicz led the AU offense, driving in a pair of runs in a 1-2 game that saw him also get hit by a pitch and score once. Maddox Jordan paced Averett in hits, connecting on a trio including a double, scoring once, and stealing a base in the game. Luke Keister, Austin Ford, and Drew Skinner added two hits apiece. One of Keister's was a double, scoring once and driving in one, Ford scored after one of his knocks, while Skinner added an RBI and a walk to his line.

The top of the Cougar order got to Ricigliano right away. Keister opened the game hooking a grounder over the third base bag, taking third on a wild pitch and scoring on a Michalowicz single. Ford also picked up a knock before a sacrifice bunt and a run-scoring hit by Skinner, putting men on the corners. Ricigliano induced a tailor-made double play comebacker and did his part, making a good throw to second on the front end, but a high throw on the back half by George allowed another run to cross the plate as AU had a 3-0 lead before GC dug into the box at McBane Field. Just like Tuesday, the Quakers had a swift counter off the big bat of Ryne Rodrigues. Starting in the leadoff spot for the first time as a Quaker, Chinen cranked a ground-rule double to center setting the stage for Rodrigues' seventh homerun of the season, this one off a 1-1 pitch that the senior first baseman knew he got the second it hit the bat. That alone would not level things, though, as Skyler Dark (Pleasant Garden, N.C.) worked a walk, went first-to-third on a floating single by Pegues and while Smith chopped into a double play, the score was back even at three-all through one.

Following a quick second, Guilford seized the lead in the third. Chinen once again got it started with a two-bagger, this time inside the paint down the leftfield line and Rodrigues stayed as hot as the Greensboro weather the past two days. Going to the opposite field for his third dinger of the still young week, and his eighth of the spring, he put the home team in front, but also like the first, GC was not satisfied. Pegues absolutely rocked a double to left-center, chasing Godsey in favor of Joshua Gunn. A wild pitch moved Pegues up and a Myers hit scored him, making the score 6-3.

A Keister RBI-single and a Michalowicz safety squeeze bunt narrowed the deficit in the top of the fourth but things settled down overall. Gunn gave Guilford trouble while Ricigliano found a groove. The next big moment would not come until the top of the seventh. Hayden Sekanick (Tampa, Fla.) took the hill and got the first-two outs on either side of a hit batsman. But then a Tyler Lowe reached on an infield hit and Skinner walked, loading the bases. But the sophomore sidewinder locked it down, fanning Jack Turner to escape the jam. Stratton Barwick (Siler City, N.C.) worked around a two-out double in the eighth then the offense exploded in the home half.

Pegues got it started with a walk then a couple batters later, Gavin Fleming (Gibsonville, N.C.) hit what probably should have been an inning ending double play, but instead it got through the legs of Michalowicz and Myers took advantage. He drove a 2-1 pitch into right-center for a double bringing in both runs and after Chris Shoemaker (Winston-Salem, N.C.) walked, George crushed a 1-1 pitch out to center for his first longball in two months and his second homer of the season. Flipping the lineup over, a Chinen double preceded a Rodrigues RBI-hit for the third time, this time just a single then Dark and Pegues collected hits to set the stage for Smith who "walked it off" with a grand slam, activating the run rule with a 16-5 win in eight innings.

Senior Day Saturday is on deck for Guilford as they play host to Eastern Mennonite University for a tandem of truly critical contests on Saturday, April 18^th. First pitch of game one is set for noon.

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