BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A big seven run fourth inning by the Birmingham-Southern Panthers proved to be costly as the Rhodes College baseball team dropped Game 3 of the SAA Championship to Rhodes, 13-5, on Sunday afternoon.
 
The loss concludes the Lynx season at 26-20 overall, falling one game short of their second straight SAA title and third straight appearance in the NCAA Regionals.
 
BSC took the early 1-0 lead in the second inning, but Rhodes got in back in the third inning and junior Bennett Notestine slapped a single to right field to tie things up. The Lynx loaded the bases later in the inning, but could not scratch anymore runs across.
 
The Panthers exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning on only four hits to move their lead to 8-1. Rhodes looked to answer in the fifth as sophomore Levi Greenberg ripped a deep drive to center with two on, but an unbelievable catch kept the score as is through five.
 
Rhodes added two in the sixth on RBIs from freshman Nick Bosma and junior Bill Munson, but the Panthers answered with two in the bottom half to move the lead back to seven.
 
Bosma struck again in the eighth with a two run bomb to cut the deficit to 10-5, but again BSC answered, this time with three runs in the bottom half to make it 13-5.
 
Though the Lynx continued to battle, it would not be their day as they eventually fell to their counterpart.
 
Senior Adam Putnam took the loss, pitching 3.2 innings while sophomore Will Vance saw 1.2 innings of relief. Freshman Jake Sossamon, Bosma, junior Jackson Lourie, and freshman Daniel Kurtzer all saw work out of the pen.
 
Bosma had a great day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Greenberg, Notestine, senior Marcus Moreland, and junior Ryan Olive all had a hit on the afternoon.
 
Rhodes will go into the offseason as they look to make a return to the top of the SAA in 2017.