The Oglethorpe baseball team completed a series sweep over the Centre Colonels Sunday afternoon at Anderson Field, coming back from four runs down to take the lead in the eighth inning and win 10-9. The victory improved the Stormy Petrels to 16-11 on the season overall and 6-6 in SAA play.
Centre got off to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Petrels came back with a single run in the bottom of the inning, cutting the Colonel lead in half. Senior right fielder Brandon Fish doubled to left-center field with two outs in the inning, then subsequently scored on a Centre error.
The Petrels took the lead two innings later. Junior left fielder Bobby Rezac reached on an error and Fish followed with a walk. Celata reached on a fielder's choice, putting runners at the corners with one out. Sophomore first baseman Andrew Mink drove in a run with a groundout and junior second baseman Matt Motz doubled into the right-center gap, driving in Fish and giving Oglethorpe a 3-2 lead.
The Colonels tied the game in the fourth, but Oglethorpe came back to take the lead in the fifth. Celata walked with two outs and the bases empty, and Mink followed with a 2-run shot to give Oglethorpe a 5-3 advantage. Centre bounced back with five runs in the sixth inning, though, and added an additional run in the seventh, taking a 9-5 lead.
The Petrels roared back from that point, though, scoring four runs in the bottom of the inning. Junior center fielder Jarvis Miller led off the inning with a triple to right field, which was followed by an RBI single from Rezac. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and then advanced to third on a single from Fish. Celata drove in the second run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to make the score 9-7. Mink and Motz were both hit by pitches, loading the bases. With two outs, freshman Sam Held cracked a 2-run single to left, tying the game at 9-9.
Oglethorpe completed their comeback in the bottom of the eighth. The inning started with Miller reaching on a throwing error and Rezac followed with a hit-by-pitch. One batter later, Celata came through with a run-scoring single to give the Petrels a 10-9 lead.
Freshman left-hander Preston Vegotsky closed out the game from there, earning his fourth victory of the season. He threw the final three innings of the game, allowing just a single run on 4 hits while striking out three batters. Junior left-hander Stuart Spiers also pitched well over 3 innings in relief, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits.
Fish finished the game 2-for-4 with a double and 2 runs scored, while Mink went 1-for-2 officially with a home run, 2 walks, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored.
With the series sweep, Oglethorpe moves into a 3-way tie for third place at 6-6 in league play. Berry and Rhodes also sit at 6-6, with Sewanee holding down second place at 6-5. The Petrels will now hit the road, as they'll travel to LaGrange on Tuesday to take on the No. 3 Panthers at 7 p.m. After that, they'll head to Jackson, Mississippi, over the weekend to go against SAA foe Millsaps in a 3-game set. The series will feature a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern and a single game Sunday at 1 p.m.