The Oglethorpe baseball team found itself in a tough midweek matchup Tuesday evening at Anderson Field, as they took on the No. 16 LaGrange Panthers for the second time this season. The visitors knocked 15 hits in an 8-4 victory over the Stormy Petrels, dropping them to 5-3 on the young season.
LaGrange scored a pair of runs in the first inning, but Oglethorpe answered back when junior center fielder Jarvis Miller and senior first baseman Austin Ferlita led off the inning with back-to-back singles and senior right fielder Brandon Fish followed with a single up the middle to score Miller and make it 2-1.
The Panthers pulled back out to a 2-1 advantage with a solo home run in the third, but Miller responded with a 2-run bomb in the bottom half of the inning, scoring junior left fielder Britton Araujo, who led off the inning with a single, and tied the score at 3-3.
LaGrange answered with a run in the fourth and two in the fifth, pushing back out to a 6-3 lead. Ferlita countered with a 1-out home run down the left-field line, pulling Oglethorpe back to within 2 runs. However, the Petrels would not score again. The Panthers added additional runs in the eighth and ninth to secure the victory.
Eight Oglethorpe pitchers got into the game, as sophomore starter Kyle Babb only threw one inning to leave him fresh for the weekend SAA series against Rhodes. Freshman right-hander Chris Woodward suffered the loss, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits through an inning-and-a-third.
Ferlita went 3-for-4 on the evening with a home run, while Miller went 2-for-5 with a 2-run homer and 2 runs scored. Fish went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Araujo went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
The Petrels knocked 11 total hits for the contest, and 6 of the 8 runs they allowed were earned.
"We battled, but just couldn't get over the hump," said Oglethorpe head coach Dan Giordano. "We gave a really good team too many free bases, and that will always come back to haunt you."
"We've got a big weekend ahead," Giordano continued. "We need a couple of good practices and we'll be ready for Rhodes."
The Petrels welcome the Lynx to Anderson Field for the opening series of their SAA season. It'll be a 3-game set, with a single contest Friday at 5 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m.