SEWANEE, Tenn. – Rhodes won the opener on a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth and the Lynx took the second game on a throwing error in the bottom of the eighth, sweeping Sewanee in baseball action, 8-7 and 10-9, on Friday in Memphis, Tenn.
The teams will conclude the series Saturday with a single game at Noon.
The Tigers (11-14, 2-9 SAA) led 7-5 headed to the ninth inning in the opener, but reliever
Childers Winn walked the first two batters and fell behind 2-0 to Quinn Blackman, who later walked to load the bases against
Jake Walling.
Malcolm Rolfing's sharp single to center plated a run, leaving the bases loaded, but Walling stabbed a grounder by Nick Barber, starting a 1-2-3 doubleplay. Charlie Meyer followed with a soft single through the middle, scoring both runners for an 8-7 Rhodes victory in the opener.
Sewanee starter
Taj Donald allowed four runs, two earned, on 10 hits with no walks and four strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
Henry Shields worked 2.2 innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits. Walling (1-2) took the loss, allowing one run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning.
The Tigers knocked around Rhodes starter
Henry Shields for six runs on five hits in 2.1 innings, but reliever Thomas LeMaster gave up one run on seven hits in 4.2 innings. Will May (3-3) tossed two scoreless frames for the win.
Owen Andress was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and
Hunter Herndon added three hits and
Mike Lewishall added two RBIs.
In the second game, three straight doubles by
Blake Pou,
Hunter Herndon and
Jack Roode highlighted a six-run sixth inning, putting the Tigers in front, 9-5, but the Lynx scored twice in the bottom of the inning without a hit and twice more in the seventh.
In the eighth Myles Kruger doubled to leadoff the frame and Austin Smith walked on four pitches. Ben Burkhart hit a chopper to the right of the mound, but the throw to first by
Joey Crews was wild and sailed into rightfield, allowing the winning run to score.
Roode,
Will Yarbro and Andress each posted two hits and Roode and Andress drove in two runs.
Matt Munn was in line for the win after working five innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts.
Ben Weiser got the first two outs of the sixth before losing control and
Henry Collins got the final out, but Collins was unable to find the plate in the seventh, leading to Crews to get an out to force extra innings.
The Lynx scored first in the opener after a leadoff single from Burkhart and he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cooper Kuriger. Burkhart stole third and scored when the ball got away.
The Tigers answered with a pair of runs in the second, starting with a walk to Roode. He went to second on a passed ball and scored on an infield single by Andress, though Andress was thrown out trying to take second on the play. Pou followed with a solo homer for a 2-1 Sewanee edge.
Charlie Teel doubled to left with one out in the third and Herndon followed with a single. Roode's single through the left side scored a run and Yarbro walked, ending the day for Shield.
Andress plated a run with a single through the left side and
Mike Lewishall's double just inside the third base bag scored two more, though Andress was thrown out at the plate to end the inning, but the Tigers led, 6-1.
Blackman homered with one out in the fourth for Rhodes, but Donald worked out of a jam later in the inning after he hit Rolfing and Barber reached on a bunt single.
Kuriger reached on a throwing error by
Sebastian Leinberger to leadoff the fifth and Kruger singled to left with one out before Corbin Kinder was hit, loading the bases. Blackman's deep fly ball to center was tracked down by
Jadon Fetrow, but Kuriger scored on the play.
Rohlfing singled through the right side, plating a run, but Donald struck out Barber to end the inning with the Tigers still in front, 6-4.
The Lynx cut into the Sewanee lead again in the seventh after a leadoff double by Dante Messina and a single from Kruger. Kinder's sac fly to right made it 6-5, but
Henry Shields got a groundout and a fly ball to end the inning.
In the eighth Andress led off with a single and Pou followed with a double to rightcenter. Fetrow's squeeze bunt plated pinch-runner
Jonah Patton for a 7-5 edge, but the Tigers were unable to add to the advantage, leading to the three-run ninth for the Lynx.
Burkhart homered to start the second game and Messina singled with one out. With two outs Kinder and Blackman both singled, driving in a run for a quick 2-0 Lynx lead after an inning.
In the second inning Kruger walked and went to second on a sac bunt by Barber. He moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a foul pop-out down the rightfield line, extending the advantage to 3-0.
The Tigers got two runs back in the fourth after Roode reached on an error with one out and Yarbro followed with a double to rightcenter. Andress plated a run with a single through the left side and Yarbro came across on a groundout by Leinberger, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
Sewanee tied the game in the fifth and nearly had more after a one-out single by Pou. Herndon reached on what was called an error and Roode beat out a chopper into the six-hole, loading the bases. Yarbro was robbed of a base hit on a hard grounder in the four-hole by a diving Barber, but Pou scored on the play to knot the score at three.
The momentum was short-lived, with Eli Selby doubling down the rightfield line with two outs in the bottom of the inning. He scored on a single to center by Kinder, who stole second and came across on a bloop single down the rightfield line from Blackman for a 5-3 Lynx lead.
Sewanee exploded for six runs in the sixth, starting with singles by Leinberger and Lewishall. Pinch-hitter
Luke Thompson walked, loading the bases and ending the day for Rhodes starter Ben Daniel. Teel's deep fly ball to rightcenter was somehow run down by Meyer, but Pou followed with a double off the wall in center, plating a run to tie the game at five.
Herndon then doubled to right, scoring another run, and Roode posted the third straight double of the inning, scoring two runs. With two outs Andress dropped a single into short right, pushing across Roode for a 9-5 advantage.
Weiser got the first two outs of the sixth thanks to ground balls but then walked Messina and Selby and hit Kinder. Messina scored on a wild pitch and Blackman was intentionally walked, loading the bases again. Rohlfing reached on catcher's interference before a strikeout to end the inning, but Sewanee's lead was cut to 9-7.
In the seventh Smith was hit to leadoff and Burkhart singled to center before a wild pitch put runners on second and third. Meyer's bunt plated a run and Messina's sharp grounder went off the glove of Lewishall, who was drawn in trying to cutoff the tying run.
Daniel worked five-plus innings for the Lynx, allowing five earned runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Reid Lampert, the fourth Rhodes hurler, got the win, tossing two scoreless frames.
