ROME, Ga. – Corbin Martens doubled twice and drove in a run and Jackson Stanyard tossed 4.2 scoreless innings of relief in Rhodes’ 3-2 victory over Trinity in an elimination game in the SAA Baseball Championships here Saturday at Advent Health Stadium.
The Lynx (29-14) advance to the championship later Saturday against Centre and must defeat the Colonels twice to claim the tournament title.
In a contest that featured 11 combined hits, Rhodes scored single runs in the second, third and fifth innings and Lynx starter Ed Anglin and Stanyard made it stand up. The two righthanders allowed just five hits with no walks, two hit batters and struck out eight.
Stanyard was magnificent out of the bullpen, giving up only two hits with no walks and four strikeouts. He faced just 15 batters, getting a ground ball doubleplay to erase one single and Evan Kuhl was thrown out trying to steal after the other base hit allowed by Stanyard.
Myles Kruger hit a solo homer in the second inning, his fourth of the season and only the second by a player in the tournament, tying the game at one. Brad Larson’s RBI double in the third gave Rhodes a brief lead, though the Tigers tied the game in the bottom of the inning.
Martens’ double down the rightfield line in the fifth put the Lynx ahead for good and Stanyard did the rest from there.
Kaleb Woodward walked, was hit once and scored twice for Trinity, but the Tigers did not get a runner into scoring position after the third inning.
Trinity starter Matthew Azordegan worked 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on two hits. He walked three and struck out eight. Reliever Will Taylor tossed 4.1 shutout innings, giving up four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. The lefthander got out of a jam in the seventh, with Rhodes putting runners on second and third and one out, but he got a strikeout and a lineout to end the threat.
Woodward drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, stole second, moved to third on a bad pickoff throw and scored on a single to left by Will Baker for an early lead for the Tigers.
Kruger tied the game with a solo homer to left with one out in the second and in the third, Austin Smith walked with one out and Larson doubled high off the wall in rightcenter, plating the run for a 2-1 lead for the Lynx.
Woodward was hit to start the bottom of the third and Thomas Moss followed with an RBI double to rightcenter, knotting the game at two.
Cooper Kuriger walked with one out and Larson drew a free pass with two outs in the fifth, ending the day for Azordegan. Corbin Martens dumped a double down the rightfield line, plating a run and giving Rhodes a 3-2 edge.
The Lynx missed a chance to extend the lead in the eighth after Martens doubled to leadoff, a ball that bounced off the glove of a diving Evan Kuhl in short rightcenter. Ben Daniel bunted but right to the first baseman Baker, who nailed the runner at third.
Cooper Angilly then singled to right, putting runners on the corners, and Angilly stole second, but Kruger struck out looking and Brandon Trichell lined out to right to end the inning.