By Joshua J. Darling, Sports Information Director
ATLANTA, Ga. – No. 2/9 LaGrange (11-5, 0-0 CCS) would take back the lead early on and score six runs late to deliver an 8-2 victory at Oglethorpe (3-13, 1-2 SAA) on Tuesday, March 14 in an NCAA Division III baseball game.
After stranding a Panther runner at third in the top of the first, the Stormy Petrels wasted no time finding their way to a lead as Carson Weir belted a leadoff homerun down the rightfield line for an immediate 1-0 lead. They would get no more and that would leave the door open for LaGrange to take the lead in the second.
That would come in the form of LC loading the bases on a single and a pair of walks and freshman second baseman Jackson McElvy (Kennesaw, Ga.) would knot it up as he drew a walk. It would be another RBI without benefit of a hit the very next batter as senior outfielder Rhett Mixon (Loganville, Ga.) lofted a sacrifice fly to center to take a 2-1 lead. OU would then prevent any further damage with a fielder's choice.
The teams would then settle in over the next three and a half innings as they combined for just two hits, one apiece, before LaGrange put up a crooked number in three straight innings. As it turned out that number would be two each of those frames as sophomore outfielder Jorge Fragoso (East Point, Ga.) ripped an RBI double and then scored when junior second baseman Adam Dorn (Canton, Ga.) reached on an error.
In the seventh a single, walk and fielder's choice would put runners on first and third and set the stage for junior designated hitter Jared Aldridge (Carrollton, Ga.). He would then lace a triple to the right centerfield gap to score both freshman catcher Curt Bonner (Cartersville, Ga.) and junior outfielder Noah Preuer (Peachtree City, Ga.) and extend to a 6-1 lead.
Two more runs in the eighth would get started with a Fragoso leadoff double, a Dorn sac fly to move him to third and a McElvy double to score him. Mixon then singled to bring McElvy home before a pair of outs ended any further threat.
The Stormy Petrels would manage a run on a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth but could do no more as the Panthers closed out the 8-2 victory.
Weir would lead Oglethorpe with one of three hits by his club to go along with a walk, run and RBI, the latter two coming on a homerun, while Jonathan Cruz had the only other RBI, that coming with the bases packed. William Marconi pitched just the first 1.2 innings and allowed two runs and three walks, which was sufficient to suffer the loss and fall to 0-1.
Aldridge would lead the way for LaGrange as he went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, two RBIs and a run scored while Fragoso finished 2-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, RBI and three runs. Mixon and McElvy both added two RBIs to round out the top offensive performers.
On the hill, freshman pitcher Tanner Cotton (Hamilton, Ga.) threw 3.2 innings of two-hit, one-run ball but it would be freshman reliever Eli Folds (Cullman, Ala.) that got the decision to move to 1-0 on the season. He earned that with seven punchouts over the course of 3.1 innings of hitless ball.
UP NEXT
LaGrange returns to action this weekend when they head to Kentucky for their Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) opening series against Berea. The first two games are set for Saturday, March 18 with game times slated for 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. with the finale at 12 p.m. on Sunday, March 19.