The Oglethorpe baseball team concluded its regular season with a trip across town to take on Division I Georgia State in Panthersville, Ga., about 10 miles east of Downtown Atlanta, Tuesday evening. They had an early lead over the home-standing Panthers, but Georgia State used a five-run seventh to push to a 6-2 win and drop Oglethorpe to 25-13 on the season.
The Stormy Petrels jumped to a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Freshman catcher Adrian Celata walked to lead off the inning and senior right fielder Joey McAlpin followed up with a single. A sacrfice bunt from senior first baseman T.J. Schmutz put the two runners into scoring position and senior center fielder Vernon Trice followed that with an RBI groundout. However, the Petrels left a runner at third base in that inning and, in fact, in each of the first four innings. That would come back to haunt them, as Georgia State tied the game in the fourth and then scored five runs in the seventh inning to break the game open and take a 6-1 lead.
The Petrels rallied a bit in the ninth, as Schmutz and Trice singled up the middle to lead off the frame. Senior left fielder Andre Turnquest moved them both up with a groundout and junior shortstop Spencer Transue drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, making it 6-2. That was all the Petrels would get, however.
Junior right-hander Sam Franklin got the start and pitched well for 3-2/3 innings, allowing a run on just two hits while walking one and striking out three. He was lifted to preserve his availability for the upcoming SAA Tournament. Sophomore right-hander Justin Thigpen suffered the loss, dropping to 6-2 on the season. He allowed three earned runs on two hits over two-thirds of an inning, walking two and striking out one. The Petrels got scoreless relief outings from sophomore Sam Traxler and Transue, the latter not allowing a hit through an inning with the former allowing two through 2-1/3.
Oglethorpe totaled eight hits on the evening, but only two Petrels collected multiple hits. Senior designated hitter Patrick Kulick went 2-for-4 while Trice went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Turnquest went 0-for-4, but he was able to reach on an error and steal his 33rd base of the season, which ties him for the Oglethorpe single-season record in that category.
"I thought we played well and had the chance to score some runs early on," said Head Coach Dan Giordano. "We just couldn't get that big hit. Our pitchers threw well against an explosive Division I lineup. We move forward with the conference tournament now. We have a couple days to get in some good practices and prepare for the weekend."
The Petrels hold the No. 4 seed in this weekend's SAA Tournament, which will feature two 4-team, double-elimination pods. Oglethorpe will travel to Birmingham, Ala., and will take on No. 5 seed Berry in the opener Friday at 1:30 p.m. ET. If they win, they'll take on the winner of the game between top-seeded Birmingham-Southern and No. 8 seed Centre Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET. If not, they'll take on the loser of that game at 4 p.m. ET.