ATLANTA – Zach Turner, Colby James and Will Marconi combined for a no-hit shutout to help the Oglethorpe baseball team split a doubleheader with Hendrix Saturday afternoon in the Southern Athletic Association opener. Hendrix won game one 13-4 before Oglethorpe bounced back with a 7-0 win in game two.
The no-hitter was the first for Oglethorpe since 2018. Turner went the first four and two-third innings striking out three, James got the Stormy Petrels out of a jam in the fifth on the way to one and one-third innings, and Marconi closed the door in the seventh with a perfect frame.
Marconi struck out the first two he faced, then the game ended on a great play at second base with Jonathan Cruz making a tough play and long throw for the final out.
Hendrix had plenty of chances, and the game's final lopsided score was in no way indicative of how closely the teams battled. Oglethorpe jumped into the lead just three pitches into the game on three straight first-pitch hits. Carson Weir led off with a double, then Carter Guarino and Sam Mills brought him home with back-to-back singles.
The game remained 2-0 in favor of Oglethorpe until the fifth when Aiden Hosford followed the same first-inning script with a first-pitch double to right-center, scoring Cruz. Mills put the game out of reach with a three-run homer in the sixth following a Guarino RBI single.
In the meantime, Hendrix had plenty of its own chances. The Warriors left two stranded in the first and the bases loaded in the fifth. The latter saw the entrance of James, who coaxed a fly ball to left field to end the bases-loaded threat.
Game One: Oglethorpe 4, Hendrix 13
Hendrix took the early lead with a run in the second before smacking two home runs in the third to go ahead 4-0. Things then got worse for the Petrels in the fifth when the Warriors added a three-spot to make it 7-0.
Parker Hildebrecht drove in the first run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly, and Cruz smacked a two-run homer of his own in the seventh to make it 10-3.
Game Notes
Guarino posted five hits on the day, including a three-hit game in the win.
Cruz and Pearson both went 2-for-4 in game one.
Jason Clark and Gavin Latham both posted effective outings in a scoreless frame apiece in game one.
Cruz's game-one homer was the third of his career.
Mills, Cruz and Hosford all tallied two hits in game two. Mills posted four RBI's which was one shy of his career high.
The first four hitters of the lineup combined to go 8-for-14 in game two.
Oglethorpe's no-hitter in game two was the first for the program since Feb. 3, 2018. Kyle Babb, Alex Smith, Noah Cole and Jack Bartlewski combined for a 4-1 win at home over Covenant in that one.
Up Next
Oglethorpe and Hendrix finish the series with the rubber game set for Sunday at 1 p.m. back here at Hermance Stadium.