The Oglethorpe baseball team took an early lead over the homestanding Huntingdon Hawks in their second midweek game in as many days Wednesday evening in Montgomery, Alabama, but they couldn't get much going after that, despite pounding out 12 hits, and Huntingdon pulled away for the 6-1 victory. The defeat dropped the Stormy Petrels to 10-8 on the season.
The Petrels got off to an early 1-0 lead in the game's second inning, as sophomore catcher Adrian Celata and junior designated hitter Brandon Fish posted back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning. After that, the Petrels knocked 10 more hits against Hawks pitching, but were never able to push any additional runs across. They left 12 men on base over the course of the game, including seven in the sixth inning and after.
They loaded the bases with just one out in the sixth, but all three men were left on base after a shallow flyout and a groundout. They left men at second in both the seventh and the eighth, and stranded runners at first and third in the ninth.
Meanwhile, the Hawks tied the game in the fourth, then took the lead with two more in the fifth. They extended their lead with a couple of runs in the seventh and a single tally in the eighth, and that proved to be all the scoring they would need.
Oglethorpe senior right-hander Spencer Transue got the start and gave his team a chance for the victory. He scattered nine hits over five innings, allowing three runs, hitting a batter, and striking out two. He wound up suffering the loss, though, falling to 1-2 on the season.
Offensively, the Petrels saw five members of the lineup pick up two hits, with sophomore center fielder Britton Araujo, junior third baseman Austin Ferlita, senior second baseman Keith Dearden, Celata and Fish all scratching out a couple of base hits.
"It was a tough night," said Oglethorpe head coach Dan Giordano. "We swung the bats well, had some chances, and just couldn't capitalize. We had a lot of hard-hit balls and nothing to show for them. We'll keep working and getting better. There's a lot of season left and we have a lot of good baseball left in us."
The Petrels will next travel to Conway, Arkansas, as they get SAA play back underway this weekend. They'll take on Hendrix in a 3-game series, with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. Eastern on Saturday and a single game Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern.