The Oglethorpe baseball team got the bats going early Sunday afternoon at Anderson Field and rode them to a 14-4, seven-inning victory over MacMurray. The win meant that the Stormy Petrels took two-of-three from the visiting Highlanders and improved to 5-2 on the season.
The Petrels scored runs in each of the six innings in which they came to the plate, topping out with four runs in the second and five in the fifth. At the same time, Oglethorpe pitching scattered seven hits and held the Highlanders to four runs.
Oglethorpe senior right-hander Matt Davis earned his first victory of the season, allowing two earned runs on three hits over five innings of work. He struck out four MacMurray hitters and walked three, with a hit batsman thrown in.
Sophomore first baseman Andrew Mink led the way for the Petrels, as he went 3-for-4 with a grand slam and a double. He capped off Oglethorpe's 5-run fifth inning with the grand slam and completely put the game out of reach. Senior designated hitter Adrian Celata went 2-for-3 with a home run of his own and a walk, driving in three runs and scoring four.
The bottom of the fifth started with a leadoff single from senior third baseman Connor Crooke, who proceeded to wreak havoc on the base paths. He stole second, then stole third and forced an errant throw from the MacMurray catcher, coming home on the error to extend their lead to 9-3. Freshman shortstop Alex Featherstone walked on that play, and senior center fielder Jarvis Miller followed with a single. Celata walked two batters later, setting up Mink with the bases loaded and two outs. The Oglethorpe first baseman launched it over the left field wall to give the Petrels a 13-3 lead.
After the Highlanders tied the game 1-1 in the top half of the second, the Petrels quickly went to work and took control of the game. Freshman catcher Alec Babb walked and Miller reached on an error. Senior right fielder Britton Araujo reached on an error, as well, allowing Babb to score. Then, after Araujo stole second, Celata ripped a 2-run single down the right-field line to give the home side a 4-1 lead. Celata then stole second and Mink followed with a run-scoring hit up the middle, capping off the 4-run inning and giving Oglethorpe a 5-1 advantage. The Petrels added two more in the third, both scoring on a 2-run single from Miller.
"It was good to get the bats going this weekend," said Oglethorpe head coach Dan Giordano. "I thought we swung the bats well 1 through 9, and it was a nice mix of our veteran guys and our young guys stepping up and getting some big hits. It's always good to win a series, and that's exactly what we'll be looking to do most weekends when we get into conference play. These 3-game series can be a grind, and I thought getting this series win in the same situation as we'll face going into SAA play was big going forward."
Before welcoming Berry to Anderson Field Saturday and Sunday for their first SAA series of the season, the Petrels will head to Demorest to take on in-state opponent Piedmont Tuesday at 5 p.m. The Berry series will get started with a doubleheader Saturday at 2 p.m., then will continue with a single game Sunday at 2 p.m.