BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Despite a tough loss in Game 2 of the series, the Birmingham-Southern baseball team won their fifth consecutive SAA series on Easter Sunday.
Game two
The second game of the series was a very tight game and a frustrating one for the Panthers. The first two innings of the game were scoreless, and in the top of the third inning, Oglethorpe opened the scoring with an RBI on a fielder's choice. Great pitching from both sides kept the score 1-0 through the next three innings. The Stormy Petrels added on another run in the top of the seventh once again on a fielder's choice. BSC could not break the deadlock until the bottom of the ninth inning on a
Noah Best RBI single, but it was not enough in the end. The Panthers finished the game with ten hits but had fifteen runners left on base which amounted to one run. Despite being on the trailing end,
Josh Leerssen had a very solid outing on the mound for BSC with five innings pitched, four hits, and only one run given up. In relief,
Hansen McCown also had a great day with four innings pitched, one hit, and one run given up. However, Oglethorpe held on and won game two 2-1.
Game three
BSC struggled to score runs in game two, but things were quite the opposite in the series finale. After a scoreless top of the first for Oglethorpe, the Panthers exploded with four runs in the bottom of the inning. The game's first run came on an RBI single from
Noah Best, the second came from
Cam McNearney scoring on a passed ball, and the third and fourth came from an
Eli Steadman single. The second inning was scoreless, and
Ian Hancock added a fifth run for the Panthers on an RBI single in the bottom of the third. The Stormy Petrels scored their first run in the top of the fourth and scored another in the top of the fifth on an error to cut the lead to three. However, another
Ian Hancock single put an additional run on the board for BSC. Oglethorpe got their third and final run of the game in the top of the sixth inning. The Panthers then scored two more in the bottom of the sixth thanks to
Cam McNearney scoring on an error and
Jakob Zito knocking in another run. BSC went on to win the SAA contest after seven innings by a score of 8-3 to give themselves yet another series win.
Records
Birmingham-Southern 29-4 (12-3 SAA), Oglethorpe 6-26, (4-11 SAA)
Up next
The Panthers will host Centre College at Striplin field for their final regular season home three-game series starting on Saturday, Apr. 15 at 1 p.m.