ATLANTA – Powered by a 13-0 victory in game two, the Centre baseball team finished with a doubleheader split at Oglethorpe in a Southern Athletic Association action Saturday at Anderson Field.
The Colonels' record moves to 15-9 overall and 4-6 in the SAA, while the host Stormy Petrels are 9-17 (5-6 SAA).
HIGHLIGHTS: OGLETHORPE 12, CENTRE 4
Centre jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the opener Saturday, as
Jake Holloway continued his strong play with a three-run homerun to right field, scoring
Will Kirk and
Drew Schacht.
Following a Schacht triple to lead off the third inning, Holloway came through again with an RBI single to left, making it 4-0.
The Petrels' Andrew Mink put the home side on the board in the bottom of the frame, belting a three-run homerun.
Oglethorpe would score runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, as well, highlighted by a two-run homer from Jack Bartlewski.
After scoring four in the first three innings, Centre was held without a run the rest of the way, stranding a total of nine runners in the drought.
Sam Shelley threw 4.1 innings in a starting role, allowing five earned runs.
Will Orren and
Hogan Brownley saw time in relief.
HIGHLIGHTS: CENTRE 13, OGLETHORPE 0 (7 inn.)
The Colonels flipped the script in Saturday's scheduled seven inning nightcap, racking up 13 runs on 12 hits while getting a stellar outing from
Chris Esselman.
Centre scored early and often, beginning with
Patrick Hope's two-run homerun to right in the top of the first that scored Holloway.
Six runs crossed in the second as Centre hit around the lineup.
Jordan Gunter, who had two hits in the inning, scored the first run on
Alex Rozner's RBI, and
Cameron Duggins would follow with a run on a wild pitch.
Holloway was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing in Rozner, and Kirk then scored on a passed ball. Esselman helped himself out with an RBI that brought home Schacht, and Gunter capped the inning with a single down the right field line to plate Holloway.
Gunter and Duggins opened the fifth inning with a bang, smacking back-to-back homers to push the lead up to 10-0. It marked Gunter's first career collegiate homerun and Duggins' second.
The scoring continued later in the frame as Rozner drove in
Parker Selin, and later came in on a wild pitch to make it 12-0.
Centre tacked on one more in the seventh, as
Dylan Wilson delivered a pinch-hit RBI single to bring in
Cole Hilt, who had a pinch-hit single himself earlier in the inning.
Esselman, meanwhile, was rolling on the mound, tossing all seven innings while allowing only one hit and facing one above the minimum. He gave up a single to Oglethorpe's first batter of the game, but promptly forced a double play from the next hitter and never looked back, striking out five.
A total of nine Colonels joined the hit parade, but Gunter led the team with a 3-for-3 effort at the dish, scoring twice and driving in two.
UP NEXT
The Colonels and Petrels meet in the series rubber match Sunday at 1 p.m.
