The Oglethorpe baseball team fell in a pair of games Tuesday in Misenheimer, North Carolina, as the homestanding Pfeiffer Falcons earned a doubleheader sweep. The Stormy Petrels came back from eight runs down to tie the score late in Game 1, but Pfeiffer scored a run in the ninth to win the game. The visitors also mounted a comeback in Game 2, but a five-run sixth from the Falcons secured victory. The losses dropped the Petrels to 9-20 on the season.
Pfeiffer scored five runs in the second inning of the first game then added three more over the next two innings to take an 8-0 lead entering the fifth of a scheduled seven innings. The Petrels started mounting a comeback in the fifth, though. They picked up three runs in that frame on a wild pitch, an RBI groundout from junior second baseman Austin Jackson, and a run-scoring double by senior center fielder Jacob Gassert.
Still down 8-3 going to the sixth, the Petrels kicked their comeback into gear. Senior first baseman Andrew Mink led off with an infield single and moved up to second on a flyout. Freshman third baseman Andrew Noack drove in Mink with a single to left, making it 8-4. Freshman left fielder Will Arnoldfollowed with a double to left, putting a pair of runners in scoring position. The Petrels loaded the bases, bringing the potential tying run to the plate, then senior pinch hitter Dylan Leonard drove in a run when he was hit by a pitch. That put the potential tying run on base and made it 8-5. Two batters later, Jackson ripped a bases-clearing double to right, suddenly tying the game 8-8. Jackson drove in four runs over the course of the game.
Both teams advanced a runner to third in the seventh, but neither could scratch a run across and the game went to extra innings. The Falcons got a run across in the bottom of the ninth to secure the 9-8 win.
Pfeiffer jumped on the Petrels again early in the nightcap. They scored eight runs over the opening three frames to again take an 8-0 lead. The Petrels mounted another rally, coming back with three runs in the fourth to cut it to 8-3. A two-run single from junior catcher Dylan Childress got Oglethorpe on the board, then Jackson followed with a run-scoring single to bring the Petrels to within three.
They added another run in the sixth (of a scheduled seven) to cut the Falcon lead to 8-4. However, Pfeiffer answered with five runs in the bottom half of the inning, taking a 13-4 lead and all but putting the game away. The Petrels scored one more in the seventh, but it was too little, too late.
Childress went 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBIs, and a run scored in Game 2, while freshman left fielder Sebastian Lopez went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
The Petrels will be back in action Friday night when they travel to Alabama to take on Birmingham-Southern at 7 p.m. EDT. The two teams will be back in Birmingham Saturday at 2:30 p.m. for a doubleheader to complete the series.