The Oglethorpe baseball team's rough weekend in Jackson, Mississippi, continued Sunday, as they lost a 6-5 lead in the ninth inning en route to a 7-6 defeat to the homestanding Millsaps Majors. Millsaps used a 2-run walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth for their third consecutive last at-bat win over the Stormy Petrels on the weekend. The loss dropped the Petrels to 16-14 on the season overall and 6-9 in SAA play, moving them to a tie for sixth in the league with Berry.
Oglethorpe fell behind 1-0 in the second inning, but they answered back with three markers in the third. Junior left fielder Britton Araujo led the frame off with a single. Then with two outs, senior right fielder Brandon Fish drove in the run with a double to the left-center gap and junior catcher Adrian Celata followed with a 2-run home run, giving the Petrels a 3-1 lead.
Millsaps tied the game in the bottom of the inning and took the lead with another run in the fourth, but Oglethorpe came back with three more in the sixth inning. Junior third baseman Connor Crooke led the inning off with an infield single, then freshman shortstop Sam Held walked to put runners on first and second. The Petrels then executed a double steal and scored on a Millsaps error, tying the game 4-4. Araujo followed with a walk and Miller an infield single to load the bases for Fish, who reached on an error which allowed the go-ahead run to come across. Celata then drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, giving Oglethorpe a 6-4 lead headed to the bottom of the sixth.
However, the Majors tallied a run in the bottom half of the inning, then scored two in the ninth to steal the win.
Senior right-hander Justin Thigpen suffered the loss for Oglethorpe, dropping to 0-3 on the season. He allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks over 2 1/3 innings. Freshman left-hander Jackson Harrell got the start and allowed 4 runs on 3 hits and 5 walks over 3 2/3 innings, while fellow freshman Austin Manuel delivered a solid performance over the middle innings, allowing a run on 2 hits over 2 1/3 innings.
Celata finished the game 2-for-3 with a home run, a sacrifice fly, a walk, 3 RBIs and a run scored.
The Petrels will next be in action on Tuesday, when they return home to take on crosstown rival No. 24 Emory on Anderson Field at 6 p.m. After that, they'll head back on the road for an in-state SAA series, going up to Mount Berry to take on the Vikings Friday and Saturday.