ATLANTA – Centre baseball hit the road for the first time in conference play as they faced the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels in a Saturday doubleheader. After dropping the first game 12-8, Centre salvaged the split with a 7-5 extra inning victory in game 2.
Game 1: Oglethorpe 12, Centre 8
- The Colonels dented the scoreboard first with a crooked number in the third inning.
Perry Nadreau got hit by a pitch, and then a base hit by
Teddy Holloway put runners on the corners.
Josh Cunningham legged out an infield hit to score the game's first run.
Dillon Di Iorio doubled to make it 2-0, and then a sac fly from
Karson Thompson put the Colonels on top by three.
- In Oglethorpe's half of the third, the Petrels benefited from a pair of Centre errors as they rallied for six runs in the inning – four of them unearned – to take the lead at 6-3.
- Centre responded in the fourth.
Jamie Laframboise led off by getting on with a hit by pitch. Nadreau walked, and then a wild pitch put runners on second and third with nobody out. Holloway walked to load the bases and the Colonels put two runs on the board after Di Iorio doubled.
Ben Prather then delivered a clutch base hit to score two more and Centre retook the lead at 7-6.
- The Oglethorpe offense caught fire in their half of the fourth, scoring six more runs to go up 12-7.
- The Colonels got one back in the fifth as
Chase Austin's infield hit plated Cunningham, but that was the last threat of the day for either team as Oglethorpe secured the win.
Game 2: Centre 7, Oglethorpe 5 (8 innings)
- Oglethorpe struck first with a run in the second, but Centre answered by manufacturing a run in the fourth. Prather led off with a base hit, advanced to third on a pair of sacrifices, and then scored after Laframboise beat out an infield hit to tie the score.
- Trailing 2-1 in the sixth, the Colonels rallied for a crooked number.
Matthew Maggard led off with a double into the gap. After Laframboise walked, a wild pitch put runners on second and third. With two outs, Cunningham smacked a gapper that scored Laframboise and pinch runner
Will Kempf. Another wild pitch brought another run in as pinch runner
Carson Mire scored to make it 4-2.
- The Petrels looked to get the sweep as a two-out rally led to a three-run homer that made it 5-4 and pushed the Colonels to the brink.
- Prather and
Will Cline both walked to start the seventh. A sac bunt moved the runners over and Laframboise tied the game with a sacrifice fly to score Prather.
- Oglethorpe got the winning run in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, but
David Sickles pitched his way out of the jam to force extra innings.
- The Colonels wasted no time to start the eighth inning as Nadreau led off with a base hit.
Baylor Woodall lined a double to put runners on second and third with one out. Thompson's RBI groundout put the Colonels on top, and then Prather doubled to give Centre a 7-5 lead.
- Oglethorpe put two runners on with two outs in the eighth, but
David Kinsbrunner froze the potential winning run with a strikeout to secure the split for Centre.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORES
- Di Iorio had an excellent day at the plate for the Colonels, recording two hits in each game and combining for five RBIs for the day.
- Prather, Cunningham and Thompson all drove in runs in both games as well.
- After pitching 1.1 scoreless innings at the end of game 1, Kinsbrunner came back in game 2 to record the final out and pick up the save.
NEXT UP
The Colonels will go for the series victory with the Petrels on Sunday afternoon.
