ATLANTA—Trailing 9-6 in the bottom of the ninth, the Oglethorpe baseball team put together an improbable rally to defeat Wittenberg 10-9 on a walk-off Saturday afternoon at Hermance Stadium. The victory helped Oglethorpe split the doubleheader with a 14-5 loss in game two, ultimately winning the three-game series two games to one.

The series win marked the first of the season for the Stormy Petrels, who have won three of their last six games, including two shutouts.

Game One | Oglethorpe 10, Wittenberg 9

Things looked bleak when, after Oglethorpe scored two in the eighth to tie, Wittenberg surged back in the lead with three runs in the top of the ninth. That was, until Mason Pearcy led off the bottom half with an infield hit then Carson Weir drew a one-out walk to bring the tying run to the plate.

Cooper Wilson followed with an infield hit of his own, and Jonathan Cruz kept the momentum going with a two-RBI single up the middle in the next at-bat. Cruz's single made it 9-8 with one out, and after Sam Mills reached on a hit-by-pitch, a ground ball by Carter Guarino saw Wilson scamper how to tie the game.

Brennan Boone stepped into the box two batters later with two out and the bases loaded in a tie game and drew a hit batter himself, proving to be the walk-off RBI.

Cruz and Wilson both finished with three-hit games, Cooper's the first of his career. Pearcy and Greg Johnson were both 2-for-5, with Pearcy providing a big swing in the form of a two-run homer in the second inning.

Zach Turner, who was a part of Oglethorpe's combined no-hitter last week against Hendrix, got the start and went the first four and two-third innings, striking out a career high seven alongside eight hits and two walks. Colin Stewart was again masterful in a three-inning relief effort, striking out two across a scoreless fifth through eighth.

Colby James picked up the win in a one-inning effort where he struck out one in the ninth.

Game Two | Oglethorpe 5, Wittenberg 14

Oglethorpe was in line to sweep the series with a win in game two of the doubleheader, leading 3-1 after two and 4-3 after three, but Wittenberg surged ahead for good with two runs in the fourth. It was the start of eight unanswered runs and saw the Tigers score in eight straight innings starting in the second.

Pearcy again had two RBI's, starting with a double down the right field line in the second inning. This gave Oglethorpe the early lead, and he would drive in another run in the seventh on a single to right-center.

Game Notes

• Cruz increased his current hitting streak to 14 games while Hosford increased his to eight games.
• Pearcy's home run was the fourth of his career.
• Game two saw multiple hits from five Petrels:  Weir, Mills, Hosford, Jabaley and Pearcy all with two.
• Cruz's four RBI's in game one marked a career high in that category.
• Cruz moved his batting average up to .452 on the year, and he has an OPS of 1.072.
• Stewart moved his earned run average down to 0.61 across 14.2 innings of work.

Up Next

Oglethorpe hosts No. 8 LaGrange Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Stormy Petrels will also be at home next weekend to host Southern Athletic Association foe Centre.