The Oglethorpe baseball team split a doubleheader with a team from the Northeast for the second straight Saturday at Anderson Field, defeating the visiting Curry Colonels 10-3 in Game 1 and falling to them 7-4 in Game 2. With the results, the Stormy Petrels move to 3-2 on the season.
In Game 1, the Petrels used a six-run second inning to pull away from Curry early, never leading by fewer than four runs after that. The inning started with a two-run homer from shortstop Spencer Transue and continued with a delayed steal of home from left fielder Andre Turnquest. The Petrels got very good pitching and cruised from there.
'Sophomore Matt Davis put forth his second excellent start in as many tries, picking up his second victory in the process. He threw six innings and allowed just two earned runs on four hits, striking out five while walking a pair of Colonels. Sophomore Sam Traxler and junior Kolin Zimmer pitched extremely well in relief, going a total of three innings while allowing a total of one hit and shutting Curry out over that stretch.
Transue had an excellent game at the plate for the Petrels, going 2-for-4 with the home run, a double, three RBIs and two runs scored. Senior designated hitter Patrick Kulick went 2-for-5 with a home run and a double of his own.
Curry got on the board first with a run in the top of the first, but the Petrels responded in the bottom half of the frame. Senior center fielder Vernon Trice walked and Kulick doubled to set up sophomore third baseman Austin Ferlita for an RBI single to tie the score at one apiece. The Petrels' six-run second inning started with senior right fielder Joey McAlpin walking to lead off the inning. Transue's two-run homer followed, giving Oglethorpe a 3-1 lead. Then freshman second basman Matt Motz singled and Turnquest doubled. Trice singled in Motz and Turnquest stole home on a delayed double steal, making the score 6-1. The Petrels rounded out the inning with a run-scoring groundout from junior first baseman Keith Dearden and led 7-1 after two. Curry got a couple of runs back over the next couple of innings, but a long Kulick home run in the fourth got one of those back and a Transue RBI groundout in the fifth got another. A Motz RBI double in the seventh rounded out the scoring for the Petrels.
The Petrels struggled offensively in Game 2, managing just five hits over the course of the contest with three of those coming in the bottom of the ninth when the team was desperately trying to claw back from a six-run deficit. The Petrels did draw 10 walks, but never could get the big hit that would vault them back into the ballgame. The Petrels did score three runs in the ninth, but they left the bases loaded with the potential winning run at the plate.
Sophomore Dan McBryan suffered the loss, dropping to 1-1 on the season. He allowed four runs on five hits over three innings, walking three Curry hitters. The Petrels did get an excellent relief appearance by junior Joseph Marco, who pitched five shutout innings and allowed just two hits, striking out six Colonels over his 64 pitches. The Petrels couldn't get much going at the plate, but Dearden did have a solid game, going 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored.
The Petrels allowed a run in each of the first two innings and two in the third, falling behind 4-0 to the Colonels. Meanwhile, the home side couldn't muster a base hit until a bunt single in the bottom of the fifth. They did get a run in the sixth when Dearden singled, Transue was hit by a pitch and catcher Adrian Celata walked, setting up Motz. The second baseman drove in a run with a fielder's choice and cut the Curry lead to 4-1. The Colonels added on with three in the ninth and looked to have put the Petrels out of the game, but the Petrels responded as three of the first four men reached base to lead off the ninth. Back-to-back RBI singles by Ferlita and Dearden made the score 7-3 and, after an Oglethorpe strikeout, Transue walked to make the score 7-4. However, the Petrels couldn't extend the inning past that point.
"We're playing solid baseball for the most part and are playing hard," said Head Coach Dan Giordano. "In our two losses, we've pressed at the plate and gotten out of our approach. Our offense has been up and down so far but I believe in this lineup and think we'll start settling in and putting up more consistent numbers. Our goal is to win every series and we still have a chance to do that Sunday. We are not satisfied with a split today, but we have a solid foundation to build on as the year moves forward."
The Petrels will take on Curry again at 11 a.m. Sunday to finish up the three-game, out-of-conference series. After that, they'll start a 12-game road swing which will begin Tuesday at No. 3 Emory at 2 p.m.