The Oglethorpe baseball team fell to the visiting Centre Colonels 10-6 Sunday in the rubber game of the three-game set between the two teams at Anderson Field. The Stormy Petrels outhit their opponent 15-9 but issued 11 walks to Centre's three. The defeat dropped Oglethorpe to 9-18 on the year overall and 5-7 in SAA play.
The Petrels could not stop the Colonels from scoring over the opening six innings of the game. They scored at least a run in each of those frames. The visitors scored multiple runs in each of the first three innings, tallying three in the first and two each in the second and third.
Oglethorpe got some runs of their own on the day. They scored a run in the first after the first three batters of the inning reached base. Senior center fielder Jacob Gassert walked and junior second baseman Austin Jackson singled, with the two advancing to second and third on a Centre error. Senior right fielder Patrick Burnette singled up the middle to score Gassert, but Jackson wound up stranded at third and the home team was still behind 3-1.
After Centre took a 7-1 lead in the third, Oglethorpe drew closer on a two-run double by sophomore catcher Alec Babb. The extra-base hit capped a two-out rally in which senior designated hitter Andrew Mink and junior first baseman Jack Bartlewski singled to keep the inning alive.
In the fourth, Jackson and Burnette drove in runs with separate RBI singles after Gassert and sophomore shortstop Alex Featherstone singled earlier in the frame. That answered another Colonel run and drew the Petrels closer still, making it 8-5.
Centre added two more runs, though, to take a 10-5 lead after six. Oglethorpe scored on a Colonel error in the eighth to draw to within four, but were unable to get anything going in the ninth.
Babb went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs, while Burnette finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Freshman right-hander Drew Snow suffered the loss, allowing six runs on four hits and four walks over 2 1/3 innings. Junior right-hander Noah Cole pitched well in relief, throwing three shutout innings and allowing just two baserunners.
The Petrels will be back in action Tuesday when they travel to Misenheimer, North Carolina, to take on Pfeiffer in a doubleheader starting at 4 p.m.