The Oglethorpe baseball team suffered a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the No. 22 Birmingham-Southern Panthers Monday, falling 8-4 in Game 1 before suffering a tough 6-5 defeat in 12 innings in Game 2. The losses dropped the Stormy Petrels to 13-22 overall and 9-15 in conference play.
The Petrels had baserunners all over the place throughout both games, outhitting the Panthers 23-16 on the day, including a 15-8 margin hit margin in Game 2. However, they left 11 men on base in Game 2 and stranded seven in the first game, outpacing Birmingham-Southern 18-9 in that category on the day.
Ogelthorpe took a 3-0 lead in the first inning of Game 1. An RBI single by senior center fielder Chris Keane drove in the first run, then a two-base error allowed a couple more to cross the plate. However, the Panthers answered back with 2 runs in the second. The Petrels scratched another run across in the third, but the home side answered with 3 more in the bottom half of the inning, taking their first lead of the game, 5-4. They scored 3 more over the next two innings to extend their lead out even further.
The second game featured outstanding bullpen work from both teams, keeping the game scoreless for three straight innings late after the Petrels came back from 5-2 down to tie it in the eighth. Freshman right-hander Grant Guinther threw 3 2/3 innings of shutout, one-hit ball to give his team a chance to come back, striking out four. Then freshman right-hander Colby James worked three innings and allowed just three hits, but finally allowed the game-winning run in the 12th inning on a leadoff double followed several batters later by a walkoff single. He suffered the loss to fall to 3-1 on the season.
The Panthers broke out to a 1-0 lead in the first, but senior designated hitter Ian Wilson launched a 2-run homer left in the second to vault the Petrels ahead 2-1. The Panthers scored a run in the third and 3 more in the fourth to take the lead back, 5-2, but the Petrels started chipping away at that. A Jonathan Cruz single plated a run in the sixth, then an Alex Featherstone solo home run brought the Petrels to within a run in the seventh, 5-4. In the eighth, a pair of walks set up sophomore first baseman Connor Ledet with runners at first and second. He slapped a single to center field, driving in pinch-runner Wyatt Lee from second and tying the game.
The Petrels have completed the SAA part of their slate, finishing with a 9-15 mark in league play. They're scheduled to close out their regular season with a four-game, non-conference series against the Sewanee Tigers Friday and Saturday on their campus in southeastern Tennessee.