MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Birmingham-Southern baseball team earned the sweep against Rhodes in a crucial SAA series. The bats came alive for the Panthers with a total of eight home runs in three games. BSC won both games on Saturday by final scores of 7-2 and 9-4, respectively. They completed the sweep on Sunday with a 16-7 win.

Game 1
Birmingham-Southern had to come from behind early in this one. After Rhodes jumped to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, Charlie Banks cut the lead in half with a solo home run. BSC added three more runs in the top of the third behind another huge hit from Charlie Banks, this time a double, and a home run from Jakob Zito.

The Panthers added to the lead in the seventh with another three spot. Charlie Banks hit his second homer to cap off his day with three extra base hits and four RBI's. 

After a bit of a shaky first inning, Josh Leerssen was in total control of the game on the mound for BSC. He went eight strong innings, giving up seven hits with one earned run, one walk, and four strikeouts. He extended his record to 7-1. Tams Mullins closed the door in the bottom of the ninth to finish off the 7-2 victory.

Game 2
BSC captured a promising win in game one, but they wanted the series victory in game two. After an RBI triple put Rhodes ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the second, the Panthers immediately responded. Shane Nelson drew a lead-off walk in the top of the third and eventually came around to score from a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jackson Webster. 

In the fifth, Ian Hancock broke the game wide open with one swing. With the bases loaded, he ripped a grand slam that gave BSC a commanding 5-1 lead. The Panther offense did more damage in the sixth by adding four more runs. Andrew Dutton's three run home run was the highlight of that inning. 

Drake LaRoche (W, 5-3) got the nod on the mound and did not disappoint. He finished his day going six innings while giving up two earned runs and striking out five Lynx batters. Ben Hoover closed out the shortened seven inning game to complete the Saturday sweep.

Ian Hancock led the offense with a multi-hit game and four RBI's that came from the grand slam.

Game 3
Birmingham-Southern had not swept an SAA opponent this season heading into Sunday. They had the opportunity in game three and capitalized behind an electric offense that totaled 17 hits. 

BSC wasted no time to get on the board. They scored three runs in the top of the first off of four hits. Included in those four hits were RBI singles from Jakob Zito and Ty Truett. BSC extended the lead to 5-0 in the top of the third. Jakob Zito added his second and third RBI's on a single that scored Charlie Banks and Ian Hancock. 

Rhodes tried to make it interesting by responding with four runs, but Ian Hancock answered with a two run homer in the top of the fourth. Rhodes showed their resilience by chipping away at the Panthers' lead. Going into the seventh inning, the score was all knotted up at seven a piece. 

In the final three innings, BSC made as big of a statement with the bats as they have made all season. They finished the game scoring nine unanswered runs. Highlights featured doubles from Jakob Zito and Ty Truett, Ian Hancock's second homer of the game, and a solo home run from Charlie Banks. 

Jacob Fields had his stuff on the mound today in relief. He went three innings without giving up a hit and striking out five. 

Offensively, Jakob Zito finished the day with five RBI's. Charlie Banks and Ian Hancock both slugged their third homers of the series to cap off the sweep in Memphis. 

Records
(RV) Birmingham-Southern 22-12 (11-7 SAA), Rhodes 19-14 (9-9 SAA)

Up Next
BSC will travel to travel to Montgomery on Tuesday to face Huntingdon in a midweek match-up.