The Oglethorpe baseball team had a mixed day at Anderson Field Saturday, pulling away to defeat Berry 10-3 in Game 1 of the doubleheader between the two teams, but giving up seven runs in the seventh and final inning of Game 2 to fall 11-7, splitting the doubleheader with the visiting Vikings at Anderson Field. The results moved the Stormy Petrels to 15-14 on the season overall and 6-8 in SAA play.
In Game 1, the Petrels fell behind 2-0 early, but used a big rally to turn the tables and kept adding on to the lead. With the score tied 3-3 headed into the fifth, the Petrels started a 2-out rally when sophomore left fielder Jarvis Miller reached on an infield single. Sophomore catcher Adrian Celata followed with an RBI triple to the right-center gap, scoring Miller and giving the Petrels the lead. After that, junior right fielder Brandon Fish struck out, seemingly ending the inning, but the ball got away from the Berry catcher and he proceeded to commit a throwing error, allowing Fish to reach and Celata to score an unearned run, giving the Petrels a 5-3 lead.
Senior second baseman Keith Dearden followed with a 2-run homer to right field in the sixth inning, extending the Oglethorpe lead out to 7-3. The Petrels then put the game away in the eighth. Sophomore designated hitter Corey Hamm led off the inning with a single, then senior shortstop Spencer Transue singled through the right side on a hit-and-run play which turned even better for the Petrels when the Viking right fielder had the ball go under his glove. That allowed Hamm to score all the way from first and allowed Transue to reach third. An infield single from sophomore center fielder Britton Araujo brought in Transue and a double to left-center by Celata scored Araujo, making the score 10-3 and all but putting the game away.
Before that, the Petrels came back from 2-0 down with a pair of runs in the third inning, the big blow a Celata double down the left field line. When Berry answered with an additional run in the fourth, the Petrels came right back with a home run from junior third baseman Austin Ferlita just over the wall down the right-field line to tie the game again.
Sophomore right-hander Matt Davis pitched very well and got the win for his efforts, improving to 4-2 on the season. He allowed three runs on five hits over eight innings, walking four and striking out three.
Celata finished the game 3 for 4 with a triple, two doubles, three RBIs and a run scored. Ferlita went 3 for 4 with a solo home run and two runs scored.
In Game 2, the Petrels came back from 3-0 down in the first, answering with a pair of their own in that inning to make it 3-2. Berry used a sacrifice fly in the third to extend their lead, but the Petrels responded in a big way. After Celata reached on an error and Fish doubled to left-center to lead off the inning, sophomore first baseman Dee Kelly hit a sacrifice fly to draw the Petrels to within a single run, and that was followed by an RBI groundout from Ferlita which tied the game. The Petrels took the lead in the fourth when Miller doubled to right center to score a run and Celata followed with a sacrifice fly.
It looked like the Petrels might have all the runs they would need when Celata doubled home sophomore catcher Bobby Rezac in the sixth, but Berry responded with seven runs in the ninth inning, turning the game on its head. The Vikings held onto the victory from there.
Transue suffered the loss in Game 2, falling to 1-3 on the season. He faced five batters without recording an out, allowing five runs on two hits.
Rezac was 3 for 3 with a double and two runs scored in Game 2, while Araujo went 2 for 3 with a couple of runs scored.
The Petrels will return to Anderson Field Sunday afternoon in search of a series victory over the Vikings. The rubber game of the series will get started Sunday at 1 p.m. After that, the Petrels will travel to Lookout Mountain, Georgia, to take on Covenant Tuesday afternoon before hosting another SAA series the following weekend against Sewanee.