GUILFORD BASEBALL TEAM SET FOR ODAC TOURNAMENT

Greensboro, NC (04/27/00) -- Guilford's baseball team begins play in the 24th annual Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Baseball Tournament Friday, April 28 at Merritt Hutchinson Stadium in Lynchburg, VA. The third-seeded Quakers (24-16, 10-6 ODAC) meet number-two Bridgewater (26-12, 11-5 ODAC) in Friday's second game at 7:30 p.m. Top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan takes on number-four Washington and Lee in the opening contest at 4:00 p.m. Bridgewater is the tournament's defending champion.

The tournament features the top four teams in the conference after 16 regular-season contests. Play continues through Sunday in the double-elimination tournament with three games Saturday, followed by the championship game (or games) Sunday afternoon. The tournament winner receives the ODAC's automatic berth into the 42-team NCAA Division III championship field.

Coach Gene Baker's club, picked sixth in the ODAC preseason coaches' poll, has the most wins in a season since the 1993 club went 30-12 and reached the NCAA playoffs. Senior right-hander Chad Coward (Siler City, NC/Jordan-Matthews) leads the Quakers' moundsmen with an 8-3 record and a 1.95 earned run average. He has fanned a career-high 96 batters over 74 innings and has held opponents to a .162 batting average. Classmate Kevin Moore (Colfax, NC/Southwest Guilford) carries a .411 batting average into the tournament, along with 44 runs batted in and 12 home runs, one shy of Guilford's single-season school record. The outfielder owns five Guilford career records entering the tournament.

Guilford has a 10-5 record in five all-time ODAC Baseball Tournament appearances and won the league crown in 1992 and 1993. The Quakers last reached the league tourney in 1998, when they advanced to the tournament final before losing to Virginia Wesleyan, 5-4.

2000 ODAC Baseball Tournament Schedule

All games played at Merritt Hutchinson Field (Lynchburg, VA)

Friday, April 28

Game #1: #4 Washington and Lee (20-13, 9-7) vs. #1 Virginia Wesleyan (29-7, 14-2 ODAC), 4:00 p.m.

Game #2: #3 Guilford (24-16, 10-6 ODAC) vs. #2 Bridgewater (26-12, 11-5 ODAC), 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 29

Game #3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 1:00 p.m.

Game #4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 4:30 p.m.

Game #5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 30

Game #6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1:00 p.m.