The Oglethorpe baseball team was swept by Millsaps in a doubleheader this afternoon at Twenty Field in Jackson, Miss., as the home-standing Majors took the first game 8-2 and came back from a two-run, sixth-inning deficit to take the second game 7-5. With the losses, the Stormy Petrels drop to 8-8 on the season, 1-5 in SAA play.
The Petrels got a solid start from left-hander Kyle Mitchell in Game 2, as he allowed three runs on six hits over four innings. He left with the game tied and was charged with the two runs that gaveMillsaps the lead. However, the Petrels came back with four in the top of the sixth inning to take a 7-5 lead in the seven-inning ball game. Unfortunately, they subsequently gave up four runs in the bottom half, giving Millsaps the 7-5 lead with just three outs left with which to work. They got the potential tying runs on base in the seventh but couldn't get either of them across and Millsaps held on for the 7-5 victory.
Sophomore Justin Thigpen suffered the loss and a blown save in relief, but he pitched in tough luck, as well. He pitched the sixth and allowed all four runs on three hits, but all four went down as unearned runs. Sophomore third baseman Austin Ferlita was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored, while freshman catcher Adrian Celata was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
The Petrels began the seven-inning game on the right foot as senior left fielder Andre Turnquest singled and then stole both second and third. Junior shortstop Spencer Transue followed with anRBI groundout to give the team a 1-0 lead. Millsaps would score a total of three runs over the fourth and fifth innings to take a 3-1 lead, but the Petrels would answer in the sixth. Senior designated hitter Patrick Kulick doubled with one out and Ferlita was hit by a pitch. After agroundout advanced the runners to second and third, Celata followed with a two-run single that tied the game. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and to third on an error that allowed sophomore right fielder Brandon Fish to reach first. After a Millsaps pitching change, Celata scored on a wild pitch, giving the Petrels the lead. Fish moved up to second on the play and then to third on a single from freshman first baseman Dee Kelly. Senior center fielder Vernon Trice came through with an RBI single to give the Petrels a 7-5 lead. The team had only six outs to get to secure the victory, but two errors in the bottom half of the inning sunk Oglethorpe and allowedMillsaps to score four runs.
In Game 1 earlier on Sunday, Millsaps jumped on the Petrels early with six runs over the first couple of innings. They had a 6-1 lead after two and Oglethorpe was never able to recover from that deficit.
Sophomore left-hander Dan McBryan suffered the loss for Game 1, allowing five earned runs on four hits over two innings of work. Turnquest had the best game of the early afternoon offensively for the Petrels, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and a stolen base. Junior second basemanKeith Dearden went 2-for-4, as well, with a double and a run scored.
The Majors jumped out with four in the first on the Petrels, giving themselves a very early 4-0 lead. Oglethorpe answered in the second. Dearden hit a one-out double, advanced to third on agroundout, and came home on an RBI single from Celata, making it 4-1. The Majors scored two more in the bottom half of the inning, though, taking a 6-1 advantage. The Petrels got one more back in the fourth on a Ferlita home run, but that was all they would get. Millsaps added single runs in the sixth and eighth innings and cruised to the victory.
"Millsaps is a quality team and I thought we went toe-to-toe with them all weekend," said Head Coach Dan Giordano. "It was a good baseball series and a fun atmosphere. We had a chance to win the series, we just couldn't finish them off. I love the way this team is starting to come together and how we battle for each other. If we continue to improve and play for one another, we can make a run in this conference."
The Petrels have one more game on their 12-game road swing, as they'll travel to LaGrange, Ga., to take on LaGrange at 7 p.m. Wednesday night. After that, they'll come back home for a seven-game homestand, including a three-game SAA series against Rhodes next weekend and another SAA series against Hendrix the following weekend, sandwiched around a midweek game against DePauw.