The Oglethorpe baseball team fell 17-7 to the visiting Emory Eagles Tuesday night at Anderson Field. The visitors jumped on the Stormy Petrels early and didn't let up, leading by as many as 14 runs en route to the victory that gave them the season series two-games-to-one.
The Petrels came into the contest with a great deal of momentum following their walkoff 11-10 victory over Hendrix on Sunday. Emory stopped that quickly, though, scoring a run in the first and five more in the second, chasing Oglethorpe left-hander Jackson Harrell from the game. Harrell suffered the loss in the end, allowing six runs on five hits and four walks over two innings.
Oglethorpe added two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings. Senior third baseman Dylan Leonard logged a pair of RBI singles over the two frames, finishing 2-for-2 with a walk on the day. The home side also added a run on an Emory error in the fourth and another on a passed ball in the fifth.
However, the Eagles scored four runs in the fourth and six more in the fifth, effectively putting the game on ice.
The teams traded single runs in the eighth and Oglethorpe tallied two in the ninth. Shortstop Alex Featherstone, who entered the game in the top of the sixth and went 1-for-2 at the plate, drove home center fielder Sam Buchanan while second baseman Sam Held, who entered at the same time and went 1-for-1 with a walk and a run scored, drove home another with a sacrifice fly.
It was too little, too late, though, as the Petrels were unable to work their way back into the game.
Gassert went 2-for-3 with a run scored out of the sixth spot in the lineup while freshman left fielder Will Arnold went 2-for-4. They and Leonard were the only three Petrel hitters to record multiple hits, though the home side pounded out 12 for the game.
Oglethorpe pitching allowed 16 hits and 10 walks. Seniors Caleb and Johnathan Feibus, sophomore Reddon McLaurine, senior Zach Kazerooni, freshman Harry Paul and junior Dylan Childress combined to allow just one run on two hits and three walks over the final four innings of the contest, though.
It likely served as the final career home game for the Petrels' group of nine seniors. This was highlighted when senior right-hander Johnathan Feibus replaced fellow senior right-hander, and twin brother, Caleb on the mound in the top of the sixth. The two embraced as Caleb left the game, marking the first time in the collegiate careers of the two that one directly replaced the other in a contest.
The Petrels will go right back into the thick of SAA play Friday and Saturday, though. They'll travel to Jackson, Mississippi, to take on struggling Millsaps in the final SAA series of the regular season for the two teams. The Petrels enter in seventh place in the league at 6-12 and could finish as high as fifth depending on results from Jackson and in other league games. The homestanding Majors enter the series at 8-28 overall and 2-15 in league play, locked in to eighth place in the conference. The two teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader Friday beginning at 5 p.m. EDT and to follow up with a single game Saturday at 3 p.m. That schedule is subject to change due to weather, however.
After the Millsaps series, the Petrels will get ready for SAA tournament play the following week.