The Oglethorpe baseball team came back from four runs down to beat the visiting Sewanee Tigers Friday evening at Anderson Field, scoring four runs in the ninth inning to erase a 7-4 Sewanee lead entering the bottom of the ninth and propelling themselves to an 8-7 victory. The Stormy Petrels now sit at 16-8 on the season overall and 6-4 in SAA play.
Down 7-4 heading to the bottom of the ninth, the Petrels found themselves behind the 8-ball against the visiting Tigers. With one out and nobody on, though, the Petrels started their rally. Senior right fielder Patrick Burnette walked, and senior designated hitter Adrian Celata followed with a double to the left-center gap, making the score 7-5 and bringing the potential tying run to the plate in the form of sophomore first baseman Andrew Mink. Mink, who just returned to the lineup last weekend after missing several games due to injury, launched a game-tying home run off the side of Dorough Field House, making the score 7-7.
The Petrels weren't done, though. Senior third baseman Connor Crooke reached on an infield single with two outs, then senior left fielder Britton Araujo followed with another single. Freshman catcher Alec Babb walked to load the bases, bringing sophomore shortstop Sam Held to the plate. Held didn't have to take the bat off his shoulder, though, as a wild pitch scored Crooke to win the game for the Petrels.
Oglethorpe took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single from Mink, but Sewanee responded with a huge sixth inning, scoring four runs on three home runs off of Oglethorpe starter Noah Cole. The Petrels answered back after Sewanee added one more in the seventh, as they tallied three of their own in the inning. Senior center fielder Jarvis Miller drove in a run with a double, then Burnette followed with a 2-run single to make the score 5-4 headed to the eighth inning.
Sewanee looked like they might have put the game away with two more in the ninth, extending their lead to three runs, but the Petrels answered back with their heroics in the bottom half of the inning.
Sophomore right-hander Dylan Childress picked up his fourth win of the season in relief, allowing one earned run on two hits over two innings, walking three and striking out four.
Mink went 4-for-5 for the game with the game-tying bomb and three RBIs, announcing his return in emphatic fashion. Miller went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.
The game served as Oglethorpe's 10th one-run game of the season, and the team has won eight of those games. It also served as the team's sixth last at-bat win, and their ninth comeback victory.
"Coming from behind and playing in 1-run ballgames has pretty much been our MO all year," said Oglethorpe head coach Dan Giordano. "Our guys never quit in those situations. They never give up and keep battling. I thought we had great at-bats all game, but their starting pitcher threw really well, also. We were able to get into their bullpen and score some runs late, though. Our goal is now to come out tomorrow in Game 1 and try to win the series."
The Petrels will play the Tigers in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m., moving the start time up an hour from the previously scheduled due to forecast rain. After that, Oglethorpe will welcome LaGrange to Anderson Field on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before playing Millsaps in another SAA series over the weekend.