The Lynx spent Easter weekend at Stauffer Field, where they squared off against conference rivals Sewanee Tigers. The series consisted of three games: the first two played in a Friday doubleheader, and the final game played on Saturday afternoon.
It was a highly offensive weekend for both teams, and
Ben Burkhart got the scoring started in game 1 as he stole 3rd and was able to score on a throwing error from the Tigers catcher. The Tigers would plate 6 runs between the 2nd and 3rd innings, putting them ahead of the Lynx 6-1.
Quinn Blackman kicked off the Rhodes comeback, blasting a solo homer in the bottom of the 4th, his 3rd bomb of the year. Blackman would return to the plate in the bottom of the 5th and produce a sacrifice fly plating
Cooper Kuriger and cutting the deficit in half.
Malcolm Rohlfing followed that up with a single to right driving in
Myles Kruger. Neither team could plate a run until the bottom of the 7th when
Corbin Kinder broke the streak with a sacrifice fly. After the Tigers extended their lead in the top of the 8th, the Lynx would enter the final frame trailing 7-5. Down to their final 3 outs, the Lynx rose to the challenge as
Malcolm Rohlfing stroked a single up the middle to allow
Clay Richardson to score. The score was now 7-6 in favor of Sewanee, and that would turn the moment over to the freshman
Charlie Meyer, who, down to his final strike, delivered a clutch single, plating both
Malcolm Rohlfing and
Quinn Blackman and giving the Lynx a walk-off win in game 1 of the series by a score of 8-7.
The offensive steam continued rolling into game 2 as
Ben Burkhart wasted no time hitting his 4th home run of the year to lead off the game. After a
Quinn Blackman RBI single, the Lynx were on top 2-0.
Ben Burkhart recorded his second RBI of the game in the bottom of the 2nd with a sacrifice fly that drove in
Myles Kruger. The Tigers battled back with 2 runs, but the persistent Lynx took those runs right back thanks to back-to-back singles from
Corbin Kinder and
Quinn Blackman to extend the lead to 5-2. The Tigers would go on to claim the lead in the top of the 6th by scoring 5 runs, putting the Lynx down 8-5. Once again, the Lynx found themselves with their backs against the wall. They began chipping away at the lead in the bottom of the 6th thanks to a couple of defensive miscues by Sewanee that brought 2 runners home.
Dante Messina tied it up in the final frame with an RBI single, and
Ben Burkhart would come to the plate in extra innings as he put the ball on the ground to 3rd, forcing an error by the Tiger 3rd basemen, allowing
Myles Kruger to score. This would give the Lynx their second walk-off victory in a row by a score of 10-9.
Rhodes came to the field on Saturday looking for the sweep, and their offense would provide as they put up 4 runs in the bottom of the first thanks to an RBI single by
Dante Messina, followed by
Quinn Blackman's 2nd home run of the series. Both teams would exchange blows in a thrilling game that saw 4 lead changes. The Lynx would be on the positive side of the final lead change as a solo homer from
Ben Burkhart in the bottom of the 8th would allow the Lynx to seal the game 3 victory and complete the conference sweep by a score of 13-12.
Ben Burkhart and
Quinn Blackman highlighted the offensive effort as both went 3-4 at the plate and blasted a home run a piece.
The Lynx will hit the road this week for a midweek doubleheader on Tuesday (April 2) against Webster University. Game 1 will be played at 12 p.m., and game 2 will follow soon after at 3 p.m.