The Oglethorpe baseball team picked up its first victory of the season Friday evening at Anderson Field, besting the visiting Greenville Panthers 8-3 on the first day of the Rawlings Southern Classic. The Stormy Petrels tallied five runs in the second inning to take control of the game, then held on via outstanding pitching for the five-run victory.
Junior designated hitter Ian Wilson led off the second inning by reaching on an error, but the next two Petrel hitters recorded outs, putting Wilson at second. Freshman center fielder Carter Guarino followed up with an RBI single up the middle to plate the game's first run. Sophomore right fielder Will Arnold followed with an RBI single up the middle to score Guarino, who advanced to second on an error and to third on a wild pitch. Then junior catcher Alec Babb followed with a 3-run home run directly down the left-field line to bring the Oglethorpe unearned run total to five for the inning and give his team a 5-0 lead.
Greenville scored their first run of the game on an RBI groundout in the third. It was an unearned run of their own after a runner advanced two bases on an errant pickoff throw. The Petrels got that run back in the fourth when junior second baseman Alex Featherstone hammered a pitch down the left-field line and out for a solo home run.
Meanwhile, sophomore right-hander Jonathan Haab held the Panthers at bay through five innings, allowing just two unearned runs on six hits and four walks. He struck out seven Greenville batters and threw 104 pitches en route to his first victory of the season. Freshman right-hander Ryan Whitener followed with 2 2/3 innings of scoreless ball, as he struck out four Panthers.
The Petrels extended their lead in the seventh, as sophomore left fielder Rajan Sampat brought in a run with a sacrifice fly and sophomore third baseman Andrew Noack followed with a lofted single to left-center.
Senior right-hander Dylan Childress got the final four outs for Oglethorpe, allowing just two hits and a run in the ninth inning.
Babb led the Petrels at the plate with his three RBIs to go with a walk and two runs scored.
The Petrels will be back in action from Anderson Field on Saturday, when they take on Ferrum at 2 p.m. as the Rawlings Southern Classic continues.