The Oglethorpe baseball team saw their season draw to a close Saturday afternoon with an 8-inning, 14-4 loss to the Millsaps Majors in an SAA Tournament elimination game at Stauffer Field in Memphis, Tennessee. The Stormy Petrels fell behind 3-0 early and surrendered runs in every inning except the second. The loss means that Oglethorpe ends the season with an 18-22 overall mark.
The Majors scored a run in the first to take the lead, then added two more in the third for a 3-0 advantage. Oglethorpe came back with a pair in the fourth to pull to within a run. Senior right fielder Brandon Fish started the frame with a single and advanced to third on a double by sophomore first baseman Andrew Mink. Junior catcher Bobby Rezac followed with a run-scoring single, making the score 3-1. Two batters later, freshman shortstop Sam Held drove Mink in with a fielder's choice to make it 3-2.
However, Millsaps responded by getting both runs back in the bottom half of the frame, then added another in the fifth to take a 6-2 lead into the sixth. The Petrels answered back with a pair of runs in the sixth. With one out, Mink doubled into the left-center gap and Rezac followed with a double into the right-center gap, making it 6-3. Rezac advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a double from junior second baseman Matt Motz to draw Oglethorpe to within two, 6-4.
However, the Petrels would not score again, and the Majors continued to add on. They again erased the Petrels' rally by equaling it in the bottom half of the inning, then scored three in the seventh and three more in the eighth. With their third run in the eighth, they notched a 10-run lead, invoking the 10-run rule and ending the game.
Sophomore left-hander Kyle Babb got the start and suffered the loss, ending the season with a 4-3 record. He allowed 3 runs on 5 hits over 3 innings, walking two.
Rezac finished the game 3-for-4 with a double, 2 RBIs and a run scored, while Fish went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored. Mink finished the game 2-for-4 with 2 doubles.
The Petrels now enter the offseason, but will return next February looking to improve on their seventh-place league finish in 2017.