ATLANTA, Ga. (March 5, 2022) - Rhodes split a doubleheader with the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels on Saturday, dropping game one 13-12, and winning game two 6-5. Rhodes now sits at 6-6-1 (1-1 SAA) while Oglethorpe moves to 5-6 (1-1 SAA). 

Game One
Oglethorpe 13, Rhodes 12

Rhodes jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first two innings. Dante Messina drove in Peter York with a sac fly in the first to get the scoring started. In the second, York brought home Gunnar Vachris with a sac fly of his own, and then John McNair drove in a pair with a double to right center. In the bottom of the fourth, the Petrels got all four runs back as the first five hitters reached base safely. Things could have been worse, but starter Nick Ferazzi left runners on second and third by inducing a flyout to center. 

Wood Kimbrough doubled home McNair in the top of the fourth to give Rhodes another lead, but it would be shortlived. Oglethorpe rallied for four runs in the fifth thanks to three hits, a walk and two hit by pitches to jump ahead 8-5. That sparked a run of scoring for the next three half-innings. Rhodes plated three in the sixth with a pair of home runs from Messina and Will Heurtin. Oglthorpe also scored three in their half of the sixth, reclaiming the lead at 11-8. In the top of the seventh, McNair went big fly with a three-run shot that scored Malcolm Rholfing and York to tie the game again. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Oglethorpe received a clutch two-out, two-run single from Parker Hildebrecht. Rhodes would score once in the ninth on a McNair RBI, his fifth of the game, to pull within one. The game ended on a flyout two batters later, with Julien Brown standing on third base. 

Rhodes offense collected 17 hits in game one, with McNair leading the way at 5-6 and 5 RBI. York, Kimbrough, Quinn Blackman and Rohlfing all had multiple hits as well. 

Game Two
Rhodes 6, Oglethorpe 5
7 innings

McNair stayed hot at the plate, bringing in York in the top of the first with a single. The Petrels answered back immediately with two in the bottom half. Rhodes, in turn, responded with a big top of the second. With two outs on the board, York drove in Mitchell O'Berry with a single. After York stole second base, Messina drove in Ben Wilson with an infield single. Then it was McNair, again, coming through in the clutch. He ripped a double to left that scored two, giving Rhodes a 5-2 lead. 

Oglethorpe pulled within one in their half of the inning with a sac fly and a groundout RBI. The third inning was quiet, but the the Petrels tied things up in the fourth when Mason Pearcy led the inning off with a dinger. Neither team could get anything going in the fifth and sixth, leading to a tied game heading into the final frame. Messina singled with one out, and stole second during McNair's at bat. On the steal, the throw from the catcher went awry, allowing Messina to reach third. During Kimbrough's at bat, a pitch got away from the Oglethorpe catcher which allowed Messina to score the go ahead run. John Fears, who entered the game in the fifth, shut the door on the Petrels in the final frame to earn the win. 

McNair added two more hits and three more RBI to his ledger in game two. Fears tossed three innings of no hit baseball with two strikeouts in his relief appearance. 

The two teams will wrap up their series on Sunday in Atlanta. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm.