The Oglethorpe baseball team earned a 3-game sweep over the visiting Curry Colonels after taking both games in Sunday's doubleheader at Anderson Field. The Stormy Petrels used a big inning in each game to turn the contest in their favor, scoring 3 runs in the fifth inning of Game 1 and 4 in the fourth inning of Game 2. In both cases, it gave Oglethorpe a lead they would never relinquish, as they won 4-2 in Game 1 and 6-0 in Game 2. With the wins, Oglethorpe improved to 4-2 on the young season.
In Game 1, the teams traded unearned runs in the early-going to make it 1-1 after three innings. The Petrels got theirs in the second after junior second baseman Matt Motz led off with a walk, then eventually scored on a pair of Curry errors. Curry answered back with a bases-loaded passed ball in the third.
The score stayed that way until the fifth, when the Petrels took control of the contest. Junior center fielder Jarvis Miller walked with one out and eventually scored on a failed pickoff attempt by the Colonels. Junior first baseman Adrian Celata followed with an RBI double down the left field line, plating senior third baseman Austin Ferlita, who had walked earlier in the inning. Celata proceeded to steal third and senior right fielder Brandon Fish followed with an RBI single, driving him in and making it 4-1.
The Petrels wouldn't plate another run, but they used outstanding pitching to make their lead hold up. Left-handed starter Kyle Babb improved to 2-0 on the season, allowing just 1 unearned run and 1 hit over 5 innings. He walked 4 and struck out 3. Senior right-hander Justin Thigpen followed with 3 shutout innings of his own, allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks in the process, while senior right-hander Sam Traxler came on for his first save of the season, allowing an unearned run on no hits over the final inning with a walk and a strikeout.
Fish went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Game 1, while junior designated hitter Connor Crooke went 2-for-4 and Celata finished 1-for-3 with an RBI double, a walk and a run scored.
In the second game, the Petrels used a 4-run fourth inning and some excellent shutout pitching from freshman right-hander Austin Manuel to take the contest. With the game still scoreless headed to the bottom of the fourth, catcher Celata and Fish started the frame with back-to-back singles. The Petrels got on the board when the Curry catcher threw the ball into left field on a double steal, allowing Celata to come around and score. After that, junior designated hitter Corey Hamm followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0. Third baseman Crooke doubled to left next, putting runners at second and third. Freshman shortstop Jacob Rivers earned his first career hit on a pop fly that Curry's second baseman lost in the sun, allowing Hamm to score, then Miller came through with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 4-0. The Petrels added two more in the sixth on a 2-run double by first baseman Ferlita.
Meanwhile, Manuel was busy earning his first career win, throwing 5 innings of scoreless ball while allowing 6 hits and walking just a single Colonel. He got out of big jams a couple of times, leaving the bases loaded for the Colonels in both the third and fifth innings.
Crooke went 2-for-3 with a double and 2 runs scored in Game 2, while Celata went 2-for-4 with a run scored and Ferlita went 1-for-3 with a double and 2 RBIs.
"I'm proud of the effort we gave this weekend," said Oglethorpe head coach Dan Giordano. "We played well in all three phases of the game, but we also have areas we can improve. Babb and Manuel threw well and the bullpen was very effective today. Offensively, we were able to get going on the bases and put some pressure on them, and came up with hits with guys on base."
The Petrels will now look forward to hosting a pair of midweek games at Anderson Field. They'll take on LaGrange Tuesday at 6 p.m., and will welcome Covenant to Atlanta Wednesday at 5 p.m.