ASHLAND, Va. – Seniors Mike and Shawn Nickles (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) combined for five hits, four runs and seven RBI and brother Matt tossed three perfect innings as the top-ranked Randolph-Macon baseball team topped York 14-1 on Thursday afternoon for its best start in program history.

The Basics

Score: #1 Randolph-Macon 14, York 1

Site/Venue: Ashland, Va./High Stephens Field at Estes Park

Records: R-MC 15-1, York 5-5

How It Happened

• The Yellow Jackets started the scoring in the first. Senior Ryan Duphorn (Erial, N.J./Paul VI) had a leadoff single, stole second, moved to third on an errant throw by the catcher, and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Mike Nickles to give R-MC an early 1-0 advantage. Senior Daniel Wilkerson (Oxford, N.C./Kerr-Vance Academy) walked, went to second on a groundout, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single to right by Shawn Nickles to give the Yellow Jackets a 2-0 lead.
• R-MC added to its lead in the third. Mike Nickles and Senior Reece Yeargain (Chester, Va./Benedictine) had back-to-back one-out singles and both scored on a triple into the right field corner by Shawn Nickles as the advantage grew to 4-0. Senior Cole Grinde (Woodford, Va./Caroline) delivered a sacrifice fly to center to plate Shawn Nickles and make it a 5-0 contest.
• The Yellow Jackets put up another crooked number in the seventh. Senior Grant Huckestein (Manassas, Va./Woodbridge) had a leadoff single and moved to second when Duphorn was hit by a pitch. Wilkerson had an RBI single and Mike Nickles followed with a two-run double to make it 8-0. A double by Shawn Nickles plated his brother Mike to push the lead to 9-0. Senior Zach Evans (Fort Mill, S.C./Seneca) and senior Mitch Mendler (McLean, Va./Flint Hill) added RBI singles and Huckestein drew a bases-loaded walk to make the score 12-0.
• Evans and sophomore Spencer Pietruszynski (Williamsburg, Va./Jamestown) knocked in runs in the eighth to make it 14-0.
• The Spartans got their first hit in the top of the ninth, a leadoff solo homer, to make the final 14-1.

By The Numbers

• The Yellow Jackets extended their win streak to 11 games. R-MC is off to its best start in school history. The 1969 team started 14-1 on its way to a final mark of 18-2.
• Shawn Nickles went 3 for 5 with two runs and four RBI. Mike Nickles was 2 for 4 with two runs and three RBI.
• Yeargain went 3 for 5 with three runs. He extended his hitting streak to 14 games.
• Grinde went 1 for 3 with a walk, two runs and one RBI. He has reached base in all 16 games.
• Evans had two hits and two RBI, while Mendler added two hits.
• Duphorn and Wilkerson both scored twice.
• Matt Nickles fanned six of the nine hitters he faced over the first three innings in raising his record to 3-0. Senior Michael Zubovich (Chantilly, Va./Freedom) tossed two hitless innings with one punchout. Junior James Womack (Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) worked a perfect sixth with a pair of strikeouts. Senior Hayden Moore (Mechanicsville, Va./Hanover) fanned two in 1.1 innings. Senior Tyler Dunn (Salisbury, Md./James M. Bennett) worked the final 1.2 innings with one strikeout.

For The Record

• The euphoria of a 13-run victory was quickly dashed following the game as the Yellow Jackets learned that the NCAA had cancelled all winter and spring championships. A team that includes 15 seniors was off to its best start in program history at 15-1, was No. 1 in the Perfect Game poll and No. 2 in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25, would not have a chance to compete for a regional, super regional or national championship.

Up Next

Randolph-Macon is scheduled to play a doubleheader at Emory & Henry on Saturday at noon.