CONWAY, Ark.—Jonathan Cruz highlighted a four-hit day with a grand slam in the second inning of game one, and Oglethorpe's baseball team split the first two games of the three-game series at Hendrix Thursday night at University of Central Arkansas' Bear Stadium. The games were moved to UCA due to inclement weather.
Oglethorpe ran away with a 14-7 victory in the opener before falling 7-2 in the nightcap, setting the stage for a decisive game three to determine who will advance to the final site of the Southern Athletic Association postseason tournament.
Game One | Oglethorpe 14, Hendrix 7
Oglethorpe led 2-0 after the first half inning, foreshadowing the high-scoring affair that saw the Petrels lead 7-1 after two. Cruz's grand slam did the bulk of that damage as he sent the first pitch he saw over the left-center field wall for his third home run of the season.
Hendrix cut the deficit to 8-6 through six innings, but it was then Mason Pearcy who smacked a two-run homer in the seventh that put the Petrels up by a cushion once again. Pearcy's homer scored Brick Conway to make it 10-6, and Oglethorpe followed with more runs in the eighth, coming off the bats of Sam Mills and Carter Guarino.
Behind Cruz's 4-for-6 game, Pearcy and Guarino both posted three-hit games, going 3-for-4 and 3-for-5, respectively. Both had two RBI's, and Peacy had four runs scored.
Will Marconi got the start on the bump and went the first four innings before handing things off to Colin Stewart who finished the game going the last five. Stewart picked up the win to move to 5-2 after scattering seven hits, three runs and a walk with three strikeouts.
Game Two | Hendrix 7, Oglethorpe 2
Oglethorpe once again had the early lead through the top half of the first but this time could not hold on. It was 2-0 midway through the third when Hendrix finally came to life with scoring in four straight innings, including a dagger of three runs in the sixth.
Colby James, who through a complete game in picking up the win last weekend at home against Rhodes, suffered the loss despite striking out six over five and one-third innings. Hunter Spence and Tate Henderson finished the last two and two-third innings with only one blemish coming in the eighth on a Hendrix two-out RBI single.
Up Next
Oglethorpe and Hendrix decide the three-game series and who will advance Friday. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. ET, and the game is set to take place at UCA's Bear Stadium. The most up-to-date times and locations can be found on Oglethorpe's schedule page through GoPetrels.com.
