The Oglethorpe baseball team saw the bats come to life in a major way Thursday afternoon at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational. They scored six or more runs in four separate innings of the 14-inning doubleheader against Rhode Island College, defeating them 16-10 in Game 1 and scoring six runs in the seventh to come back and win 10-6 in Game 2. The sweep at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale, Florida, improved the Stormy Petrels to 9-5 on the season and took them to 2-1 at the RussMatt Invitational so far.
In the second game, the Petrels ran out to a 4-1 lead over the first three innings, but saw the Anchormen respond with five runs over the middle innings to build a 6-4 advantage headed to the seventh and final inning.
Senior catcher Adrian Celata started the inning in excellent fashion, as he slammed his second home run of the game to make it 6-5. After an Oglethorpe strikeout, freshman left fielder Scott Witt singled, freshman first baseman Andrew Mink doubled, and senior second baseman Keith Dearden intentionally walked, loading the bases. Sophomore designated hitter Dee Kelly followed by stroking a 2-run single, scoring Witt and senior pinch runner Alex Atteberry and vaulting the Petrels into a 7-6 lead. Junior shortstop Gabriel Selochan followed by driving Dearden home on a squeeze play and expanding Oglethorpe's lead to 8-6. Sophomore center fielder Britton Araujo ended the scoring for Oglethorpe by ripping a 2-run double, driving home junior pinch runner Morgan Blake. A Rhode Island College error allowed Selochan to score and Araujo to advance to third, making it 10-6.
Junior right-hander Justin Thigpen mowed the Anchormen down in the seventh to secure the Oglethorpe victory.
The Petrels began the game with three straight baserunners, as Araujo doubled, junior third baseman Austin Ferlita was hit by a pitch and Celata stroked a 3-run homer. The Petrels added their fourth run in the third when Celata doubled and junior right fielder Brandon Fish doubled down the left field line to drive him in.
Celata had a huge game, going 3 for 5 with two homers, a double, four RBIs and three runs scored. Araujo went 3 for 5 himself with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored, while Fish went 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Senior right-hander Kolin Zimmer picked up his first win of the season, going 1 2/3 innings allowing just a single hit.
The Petrels exploded early in the first game after scoring just two runs on Tuesday against Coe. They put up all 16 of their runs in the first three innings of the game. They used a 3-run homer from Dearden, a solo homer from Kelly, and an RBI single from Fish to take a 6-0 lead after one.
In the second, they got RBIs from six different people. Celata and Fish both doubled in the inning, and sophomore left fielder Jarvis Miller followed with an RBI single. Kelly drove in a run with a groundout and sophomore catcher Bobby Rezac reached on an error while driving in a run, as well.
Holding a 12-0 lead headed into the third, the Petrels continued to pile the pressure on Rhode Island College. Kelly doubled into the left-center gap to score a run, Witt singled to drive in a run, and Dearden and Selochan drove runs home on groundouts.
The Anchormen scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, then came back with seven in the sixth, cutting the Oglethorpe lead to 16-9. They were able to add one more in the seventh, but that was it, and the Petrels secured the 6-run victory.
Sophomore right-hander Matt Davis picked up his third win of the season, allowing a run on four hits over four innings. He walked two and struck out one.
Celata went 2 for 2 with a triple, a double, a walk, an RBI and three runs scored. For the day as a whole, he went 5 for 7 with two homers, a triple, two doubles, a walk, five RBIs and six runs scored. Fish was also perfect at the plate in Game 1, going 3 for 3 with two RBIs and three runs scored. He went 5 for 7 with three RBIs and three runs scored for the day. Kelly went 2 for 3 with a home run, a double, three RBIs and a run scored in the second game.
"This was a good way to get back to our winning ways," said Oglethorpe head coach Dan Giordano. "Obviously, our offense stole the show today. We had some really good at-bats throughout the entire lineup. It was nice to see a bunch of different guys get into the lineup today and take advantage of the opportunity. I don't think we've put together a complete game yet with all three phases clicking. Hopefully, we can stay on the winning side of the ledger Friday against a good Thomas More team."
The Petrels will take on Thomas More at 9 a.m. Friday morning from the Chain O'Lakes Complex in Winter Haven, Florida. They'll be back at Lake Myrtle Saturday morning at 9:15 a.m., when they wind up their stay at the RussMatt Invitational against Central (Iowa).