ROME, Ga. – Rhodes baseball survived Oglethorpe to move to the semi-final round of the Southern Athletic Association Conference Tournament on Saturday, downing the Stormy Petrels 5-2.
 
The Lynx improve their record to 30-13 on the season while Oglethorpe ends its season with a record of 18-25.
 
Rhodes spread out its scoring, with Will Gietema getting the Lynx on the board first with a solo homerun in the second inning. In the next frame, Ryan Olive hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Bill Munson for the Lynx' second score.
 
The Petrels broke the silence in the fourth inning, knocking in their first run. Rhodes answered with a two-run fifth inning, sparked by a Justin Genter double to left field that sent Munson home for the second time, and the Lynx' third score. Patrick Kilkenny doubled down the left field line on the next at bat, scoring Genter and gave Rhodes a 4-1 lead.
 
Oglethorpe added a run in the seventh, but the Lynx nailed down the victory in the eighth when Marcus Moreland singled to center field to score Andrew Wallis and lock up the 5-2 win.
 
Rhodes tallied 12 hits in the outing, paced by the bat of Genter, who racked up three hits, including a double. Munson, Kilkenny and Gitema each added two hits apiece.
 
Thomas Beamish got the start and his sixth win of the season, throwing for seven innings with three strikeouts, only giving up five hits. Max Halasz came in to relieve, throwing the final two innings, where he threw four K's and only gave up one hit.
 
The Lynx advance to play Berry College on Sunday in the SAA Semi-Final round. The tournament is a double elimination setup, forcing the Lynx to beat the Vikings twice on April 27 to advance to the Championship Game.