This week we are on the brink of the top five teams with the 2001-2002 baseball team as number six on the countdown. The Quakers had a 12-4 Old Dominion Athletic Conference record, which still stands as the best conference record to date.

The team started off the season slow, losing three of their first six games. However, they turned it around going 9-3 in March. This streak brought the Quakers’ record to 12-6.

Before the ODAC tournament, the baseball team was 6-1. They only had four conference losses, which netted them the third seed in the ODAC tournament. This brought their record to 20-9, and gave the team momentum.

By the end of April, the team already had surpassed the success of the previous year’s team. The 2000-2001, Quakers had only 15 total wins, combined with four conference wins and 12 losses.

In 2002, the team was led by Joe Dooley ’02, who led Division III with 12 wins, which tied the school’s 26-year-old record. He had a 12-3 mark in addition to four saves and a 3.10 earned run average in 20 appearances. He owned a school record of 11 complete games on the mound including two shutouts and won the league’s Player of the Week Award for the week ending March 24.

Dooley did not do it alone.

Steve Danis ’02, the Quakers’ starting center fielder, hit a career-high of .368 with 51 runs, four homers, 30 stolen bases and 29 runs batted in. He ranked second in the league in steals, third in runs, and ninth in hits. Danis raised his school record stolen bases mark to 85 and set Guilford’s career hit mark with 194 and runs scored with 159 that year. His .346 career batting average ranks fourth in school history and his 99 RBI are seventh all time.

A.J. McCauley ’04 broke Guilford’s season records for stolen bases (31), at-bats (187), and hits (70) while batting .374 with 10 doubles and 35 RBI.

McCauley led the league in stolen bases and also was second in the ODAC in hits and seventh in runs. He was the ODAC Player of the Week for the week ending March 10. His 45 steals in 75 games rank third on Guilford’s all time-list.

With all this success, Guilford ended its season with a 30 win season. This special season tied the school’s single season win record. This feat has not been reached since.

After the regular season, Guilford played in the ODAC tournament, in which the top six teams get to participate.

The Quakers finished in second place, falling to Bridgewater who had their number all year. The team then got snubbed for an NCAA Division III tournament berth, which ended their season.

Tying the school record of 30 wins and only having four conference losses is very impressive. Plus there was a lot of individual success as well — six members of the ’02 team placed on the All-ODAC baseball team.

Even though they did not make the NCAA tournament, this baseball team has been the best Guilford baseball team of the past decade by far and deserves to be the number six team on the countdown.