The Oglethorpe baseball team mounted a four-run rally over their final two times at bat Sunday to defeat the Hendrix Warriors, 4-3, and sweep a three-game set from the visitors at Anderson Field. The victory improves the Stormy Petrels to 14-9 on the season, and their 5-6 mark in SAA play puts them in fifth place in the league.
The Petrels faced a difficult hill to climb, falling down 3-0 headed into the bottom of the seventh and having not scratched a hit off of Hendrix starter Daniel Imbro to that point. The Warrior right-hander had faced the minimum of 18 batters through six innings, as Oglethorpe junior shortstop Spencer Transue walked in the first but was erased with a double play to end that inning. However, the team tallied four runs on five hits over the seventh and eighth innings, turning the game around.
This was made possible by Oglethorpe pitching, which repeatedly worked their way out of jams that could have resulted in Hendrix putting the game out of reach. The Warriors left 14 men on base over the course of the game, keeping the Petrels in the contest. Sophomore right-hander Justin Thigpen picked up another win in relief, improving to 4-1 on the season for the home team. He went 3-2/3 innings without allowing a run and gave up just two hits over that span. He walked two and struck out six. Sophomore lefty Dan McBryan got the start for the Petrels and pitched very well, striking out seven batters over five-plus innings of work. He allowed two earned runs on five hits and worked out of several jams early in the game.
Senior left fielder Andre Turnquest came up with doubles in each of his final two at-bats, playing a big part in the Oglethorpe victory. Overall, he went 2-for-4 with the two doubles, an RBI, and two runs scored. Senior designated hitter Patrick Kulick drove in the game-winning run in the eighth and went 1-for-4 in total with two RBIs and a run scored.
The Petrels failed to scratch a hit off of Imbro until the seventh, but their pitchers were repeatedly working their way out of jams and keeping them in the game. McBryan left two on base in the first, two in the second and one in the fifth. He also limited the damage in the Warriors' two-run third, getting a double-play grounder which scored a run, but stopped the rally in its tracks. Continuing the trend, Thigpen left two on base in the sixth after Hendrix scored an unearned run in the inning and he stranded two in the seventh, as well.
At that point, the Oglethorpe bats came to life. Turnquest led off the inning with a double off the tip of the Hendrix left fielder's glove, the Petrels' first hit of the game. Two batters later, Kulick singled with Turnquest on the move, allowing the Petrel left fielder to score easily. Then, after sophomore third baseman Austin Ferlita walked and junior second baseman Keith Dearden reached on a fielder's choice, senior right fielder Joey McAlpin ripped a single through the right side, scoring Kulick and making the score 3-2.
In the eighth, Thigpen stranded three more Warrior baserunners after they loaded the bases with nobody out. Then in the bottom half of the inning, freshman catcher Adrian Celata was hit by a pitch and senior center fielder Vernon Trice reached on a fielder's choice. He went on to steal second and Turnquest brought him home with an RBI double into the left-center gap, tying the game. Transue singled through the left side of the infield and Kulick proceeded to drive in the game-winning run with a fielder's choice grounder. Thigpen allowed a leadoff walk in the ninth but set down the next three Hendrix hitters in order for the win.
"I'm proud of the guys for battling and playing 27 outs today," said Head Coach Dan Giordano. "We got behind early and their starter was on, but Turnquest, Kulick and McAlpin put together outstanding at-bats in the seventh and eighth and got us rolling. We showed a lot of resolve today in coming from behind. With the sweep, we've climbed back into th SAA hunt, but we have lots of baseball to go. We need to keep working and getting better every day. I still think we have some of our best baseball ahead of us."
The Petrels will now go back on the road this week. They'll head to Demorest, Ga., to take on Piedmont in a midweek non-conference contest Wednesday at 7 p.m. They'll then travel up to Tennessee to take on Sewanee in a three-game SAA series next weekend, starting with a single game Friday at 4 p.m. Eastern and coming to a close with a 1 p.m. Saturday doubleheader.