The Oglethorpe baseball team found themselves down 8-0 midway through the third inning Tuesday evening at Anderson Field, but they scored six in the bottom half of that inning, then tied the game with three runs in the ninth and eventually won 12-11 on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch by sophomore pinch hitter Bobby Rezac in the 10th inning, tallying their third consecutive victory. The win propelled the Stormy Petrels back over .500 for the season, improving them to 14-13.
Despite rallying from an 8-0 deficit to get within two runs a couple times, the Petrels found themselves behind 11-8 headed to the ninth inning. But senior shortstop Spencer Transue walked to lead off the inning and senior second baseman Keith Dearden followed with a double to the left-center gap. Senior Alex Atteberry pinch ran for Dearden and both he and Transue moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch, making the score 11-9. After a Petrel groundout, sophomore left fielder Jarvis Miller drove in Atteberry and reached on an error, advancing to second base as the potential tying run with only one out. A flyout brought the home team down to their final out, though, and brought junior right fielder Brandon Fish to the plate. He came through with a game-tying single through the left side of the infield, making it 11-11.
The visiting Hawks got out of the inning without further damage, but junior right-hander Justin Thigpen got three quick outs in the 10th, allowing the Petrels to get right back up to bat. Junior third baseman Austin Ferlita walked to lead off the bottom of the 10th and freshman pinch hitter Scott Witt followed with a sacrifice bunt where Huntingdon pitcher Mason Throneberry tried to nab the lead runner and was unsuccessful. Transue was next up, and he hit a bunt single with two strikes, putting a ball just out of reach of the diving Throneberry. That loaded the bases with nobody out and brought sophomore pinch hitter Bobby Rezac to the plate. Throneberry came a little too far inside on Rezac and hit him with a pitch, giving the Petrels the winning run and ending the game.
Down 8-0 in the bottom of the third, the Petrels responded with six runs in the frame, putting themselves right back in the game. Sophomore center fielder Britton Araujo started the inning with a single to center field. Miller reached on a fielder's choice behind him and sophomore catcher Adrian Celata followed with a monster home run deep into the parking lot beyond left-center. Fish followed with a walk and freshman first baseman Andrew Mink, making his return to the lineup, doubled down the left-field line to score Fish and make it 8-3. Ferlita followed with an RBI single to make it 8-4. After a strikeout, Transue singled and freshman second baseman Dylan Leonard walked to load the bases. The Petrels scored another run on a wild pitch, drawing to within two before the Hawks were able to make it out of the inning. The two teams traded runs for several innings after that, leading to Huntingdon's 3-run lead in the ninth.
Thigpen picked up the victory, improving to 3-1 on the season. He went three innings and allowed just a single unearned run on two hits, walking one and striking out four. Junior right-hander Sam Traxler also pitched very well, striking out five and allowing two hits over two shutout innings.
Fish went 4 for 5 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored while Celata went 3 for 6 with a home run, a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.
"It's nice to get a good win versus a really good team and to be building some momentum into the weekend," said Oglethorpe head coach Dan Giordano. "I'm really proud of the effort and of how we stayed with each other. We know what kind of team we have and what we can do moving forward. I look forward to watching these guys compete this weekend."
The Petrels will welcome Berry to Anderson Field this weekend for a 3-game SAA series. The first game is scheduled to get started Friday at 6 p.m. while the final two are scheduled as part of a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.