BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–Michael Sarzen, Colby James and Grant Guinther combined for seven shutout innings and Will Marconi and the Stormy Petrels weathered a late storm to help Oglethorpe upset No. 1 Birmingham Southern, 2-1, Sunday afternoon in game one of a Southern Athletic Association doubleheader.
Birmingham Southern won game one of the series 13-3 Saturday night and went on to win game two of the doubleheader 8-3 to take the series two games to one.
Oglethorpe's victory over the top-ranked Panthers marked the first win over a nationally ranked opponent since defeating No. 4 LaGrange 9-7 on March 29 last season.
Game Two | Oglethorpe, 2, Birmingham Southern 1
Oglethorpe's pitching staff turned in a masterful performance against the nation's top team, highlighted by James who went 2.1 middle innings and picked up the win. James worked the Petrels out of a jam in the bottom of the third when Birmingham Southern had two on and two out with Oglethorpe only in a 1-0 lead. With the tying run in scoring position and go-ahead run on base, James cooly stepped in and ended the inning with a punchout.
James went on to strike out eight of the 14 batters he faced while allowing only two hits and one walk. This followed a similar effort from Sarzen who went the first 2.2 innings striking out five and walking one while allowing two hits.
Guinther came into the game in the seventh when the Panthers led off with a walk, but the junior right-hander ended that threat with a popout and flyout.
The win took plenty of grit, and Marconi and the Petrels showed it in the final two innings. Marconi entered to pitch starting in the eighth and, after the first three reached to load the bases with nobody out, Marconi escaped the jam with a strikeout and a double play.
It was a similar finish in the ninth as three straight Panthers reached to load the bases, this time with one out. After an infield hit then scored one, Marconi escaped this threat with another punchout and groundout, leaving the bases loaded and the tying run 90 feet from the plate.
The Petrels built their 2-0 lead after Nick Tarantino pushed Carter Guarino across in the third and Alex Steckler came across on a BSC error in the seventh.
Carson Weir went 2-for-4 to lead the Petrels at the plate in the win.
Game Three | Birmingham Southern 8, Oglethorpe 3
BSC bounced back from the loss in Sunday's first game with four runs in the first inning to secure the series victory. The Stormy Petrels countered with a run in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but it was not enough.
Jonathan Cruz came across to score in the fourth, Cooper Wilson scored in the fifth, and Parker Hildebrecht drove in Sam Mills on a groundout in the sixth.
Guarino and Johnson both tallied multiple hits in the loss.
Game One | Birmingham Southern 13, Oglethorpe 3
BSC built a 5-1 lead after the first two innings and never looked back, scoring in every inning past the third including a 3-run effort in the fourth.
Oglethorpe cut into the lead twice but could not get the deficit any closer than two the rest of the way. Mason Pearcy hit a sacrifice fly in the second to make it 3-1, and Greg Johnson hit a two-run double in the fourth to make it 5-3. However, that was all the scoring for the Petrels in the series opener on Saturday.
Guarino picked up the multihit effort with a 2-for-3 performance to lead Oglethorpe.
Series Notes
- Guarino led the Petrels in the series with a 5-for-11 effort across all three games.
- Carson Weir and Johnson both tallied three hits in the series.
- Guinther was the only Petrel with multiple appearances on the rubber, and he went 2.2 scoreless innings. He struck out two and limited the Panthers to two hits and one walk.
- Johnson extended his hitting streak to six games and his streak of reaching base safely to 16 games.
- Cruz continues to lead the team in hitting with a .370 average.
- Oglethorpe's win marked only the fourth time this season a team beat the top-ranked Panthers. Only one other time this season had BSC been held to one run or fewer.
- The last time Oglethorpe won a series against a top-25 team came last season when the Petrels took two out of three at Hendrix, including 5-4 in the finale.
Up Next
Oglethorpe continues its stretch against nationally ranked competition with a trip to No. 9 LaGrange on Tuesday. The next home game for the Stormy Petrels will be next weekend against Sewanee and will represent the final home games of the 2023 regular season.
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