The Oglethorpe baseball team suffered a difficult defeat Sunday afternoon in Conway, Arkansas, giving up four runs in the eighth inning to turn what had been a 9-6 lead into a 10-9 defeat to the homestanding Hendrix Warriors. With the loss, the Stormy Petrels drop to 11-10 on the season overall, 3-6 in SAA play.
The Petrels were up by three runs headed into the fifth, but junior right-hander Justin Thigpen allowed the first three Hendrix batters to reach base. Thigpen got a fielder's choice grounder from the next batter, cutting down a potential run at the plate. However, back-to-back bases-loaded walks brought the Warriors to within a run, 9-8, leaving the bases still loaded with one out. Senior right-hander Spencer Transue relieved Thigpen and allowed a sacrifice fly, tying the game, but Oglethorpe still had a chance to get out of the inning. However, an RBI single followed, giving the Warriors a 10-9 lead. The Petrels did not mount a serious threat in the ninth, and Hendrix secured the victory. Thigpen suffered the loss, dropping to 2-1 on the season. He allowed four runs on two hits and three walks over a third of an inning.
The eighth inning came after the Petrels had come back from down 6-4 to take a 9-4 lead headed into the eighth. They used three runs in the sixth and a couple more in the seventh to accomplish the feat. After back-to-back singles to lead off the sixth, sophomore center fielder Britton Araujo singled up the middle, driving in a run to make it 6-5. Junior third baseman Austin Ferlita followed with an RBI single to center, scoring sophomore left fielder to tie the score. A couple batters later, senior second baseman Keith Dearden drove another run in with a bases-loaded walk, giving Oglethorpe the lead.
It was a lead they would expand in the seventh. Freshman right fielder Scott Witt led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on an error. Miller then followed with an RBI triple to straightaway center, scoring Witt. Shortstop Transue followed a couple batters later with an RBI bunt single of his own, extending Oglethorpe's lead to 9-6.
Oglethorpe built a 4-0 lead headed into the bottom of the fifth with a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Ferlita and sophomore first baseman Adrian Celata led off the inning with a pair of singles. After a wild pitch moved them up, Dearden knocked Ferlita home with a fielder's choice grounder. Two batters later, Witt doubled Dearden home to give Oglethorpe a 2-0 lead.
That advantage doubled in the fifth, when the Petrels put a couple runners on with two outs. Junior designated hitter Brandon Fish came to the plate and doubled to left field, driving both runners in and expanding the Oglethorpe advantage to 4-0.
Hendrix turned the game around with six in the bottom of the fifth, only for the Petrels to turn it back in their own favor with five over the next two innings.
Miller finished the day 3 for 4 with a triple, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. Witt went 3 for 5 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored, Ferlita went 2 for 3 with a walk, an RBI and a couple of runs scored, and Araujo went 3 for 6 with an RBI and two runs scored.
"This was obviously a difficult loss for us," said Oglethorpe head coach Dan Giordano. "We just couldn't hold onto the lead today, and we dropped an SAA series. We'll look to get back on the winning track with two games in the middle of this week, though."
The Petrels will travel to LaGrange, Georgia, on Tuesday to take on LaGrange at 7 p.m. and that will be immediately followed by a home game at Anderson Field against Chicago at 7 p.m. After that, the Petrels get ready for another conference road series, as they travel to Danville, Kentucky, to take on Centre in a 3-game set next weekend.