The Oglethorpe baseball team scored three runs in the ninth inning to pick up a 5-2 road victory over LaGrange Wednesday night at Cleaveland Field in LaGrange, Ga. The victory improves the Stormy Petrels to 9-8 on the season.
The Petrels scored three runs in the ninth to break a 2-2 tie en route to the three-run victory. The Panthers were then set down by junior right-hander Spencer Transue in the ninth. Transue got the final out with the help of an acrobatic diving catch by senior center fielder Vernon Trice. LaGrange had come back from a two-run deficit in the fourth and fifth innings after sophomore third baseman Austin Ferlita hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage. The Petrels outhit LaGrange 8-5 and did not commit an error over the course of the contest while the Panthers committed four.
Sophomore right-hander Justin Thigpen got the win in relief, improving to 2-1 on the season. He pitched three innings of shutout baseball while allowing just one hit and striking out four. He hit a batter but did not walk anybody. Transue recorded his second save of the season after starting the game at shortstop. He pitched the ninth inning, allowing just a single walk and striking out a batter, as well. Junior right-hander Joseph Marco got the start, pitching three innings of scoreless baseball and allowing just one hit.
Ferlita was one of the hitting stars for the Petrels, going 3-for-5 on the night with the two-run homer. Senior designated hitter Patrick Kulick went 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored.
Neither team got much offense going over the first three innings, as they combined for two hits over that period. The Petrels got something going in the fourth, though, as Kulick singled with one out and Ferlita followed with his home run, giving the Petrels a 2-0 edge. They went on to load the bases with two outs, looking for more, but LaGrange was able to get out of the inning with only the two runs of damage.
It looked for awhile like that might prove costly for the Petrels, as LaGrange scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to tie the score 2-2. However, Thigpen came in to pitch innings 6-8, shutting down the Panthers. The Petrels looked like they had taken the lead in the eighth when freshman catcher Adrian Celata appeared to drive Kulick home from third with a one-out sacrifice fly. However, LaGrange appealed the play at third and the umpires ruled that Kulick had left the bag early, resulting in a double play and the end of the inning.
With the score still tied going to the ninth, the Petrels got a rally going right away in the final frame. Transue led off with a single and freshman pinch-hitter Corey Hamm reached on a fielder's choice-error, putting runners at first and second with nobody out. Freshman second baseman MattMotz followed by laying down a sacrifice bunt that resulted in another LaGrange error, allowingTransue to score the go-ahead run and the other two baserunners to move up an additional 90 feet. Senior left fielder Andre Turnquest followed with an RBI groundout, giving the Petrels a two-run lead, and Kulick capped off the inning by hitting a screaming RBI triple down the right-field line, extending the Oglethorpe lead to 5-2. The Panthers got one man aboard in the ninth but Trice's catch sealed the game for the visitors.
"Good teams find a way to win ball games like that and that's what we did tonight," said Head Coach Dan Giordano. "I thought we swung the bats well and I give credit to LaGrange for making some nice plays on a couple of hard-hit balls. Ferlita has been swinging the bat extremely well over the last couple of weeks and I think it's really just a matter of time before he really gets going. We got another solid performance out of our bullpen guys, as well, and it was good to see them get some work in and throw strikes. We've got a big series coming up this weekend and it'll be nice to play at home after this long road trip."
The Petrels will welcome No. 8 Rhodes to Atlanta this weekend for a three-game SAA series at Anderson Field. As currently scheduled, the two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday with the action starting at 2 p.m., then play a single game at noon on Sunday. Rain could force that schedule to be shuffled, though.