Sauget, Ill. - Rhodes took a 6-1 lead and led 6-5 in the ninth before a home run by Webster sent the Central Regional game into extra innings. The Lynx upset host and the No. 1-seeded Gorloks with a home run in the 11th inning to win 7-6. Rhodes has now won 10 of their last 11 games and will play in the winners bracket final on Sunday while Webster has won 23 of their last 25 games and will play again Saturday around 4:30 p.m.
Rhodes hit three singles to open the game, which allowed Ryan Palermo to step to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. He tallied the first RBI of the day to give Rhodes a brief lead below Webster tied the game after two hits to right field in the bottom half of the inning.
Once again, the Lynx loaded the bases with no outs to open the second inning after Jon Michael Lauck's sacrifice bunt allowed him to reach when Webster's first baseman mishandled the ball. A single through the right side by Paul Giacomazzi gave Rhodes a 2-1 advantage before Zac Lange's bunt, which was laid perfectly down the third base line, making a throw to first impossible for the RBI single. A sac fly to left from Jacob Telli allowed Lauck to score and give Rhodes a 4-1 lead.
In the fourth inning, Webster starting pitcher Austin Beccue left the game abruptly with Giacomazzi on second base and zero outs. The Lynx capitalized after CJ Lee entered the game by scoring two runs to take a 6-1 lead. The Gorloks then tallied two runs in the bottom half of the inning before plating a lone run in the fifth after a single by Kyler Kent. Rhodes right fielder Levi Greenberg accurately threw to second base to get Kent out trying to make it a multi-base hit.
After five innings, and a span of one hour and 50 minutes, the Lynx led 6-4.
A solo home run over the short right field wall by Webster's Mike Wick cut Rhodes' lead to one in the sixth inning as Jack Mercer threw his 89th pitch of the game. With no outs, a pickoff at second base followed by a double play eliminated a scoring chance for the Lynx in the seventh.
Webster had two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth before Ben Dinter hit a home run to right field which sent the game into extra innings. The home run tipped off of Greenberg's glove, but his body was already over the fence. The Lynx then called in Bosma to replace Mercer, who went 8.2 innings after tossing 129 pitches.
After a scoreless ninth, Will Heurtin opened the 11th frame with a home run to right center, elevating the Lynx dugout and crowd as Heurtin danced around the bases to put Rhodes back on top for good.
Bosma earned this third win of the year after going 2.1 innings and only allowing one hit. Neither Mercer nor Bosma allowed a walk in the win.
Offensively for the Lynx, Giacomazzi went four-of-five with a walk. He scored twice and allowed one RBI. The Lynx tallied two doubles and 15 hits in the game, their highest of the season since recording 17 hits against Christian Brothers University on April 4th. Webster recorded 13 hits including two home runs and three doubles.
Rhodes will play the winner of Wis.-Whitewater/Texas-Tyler at 10 a.m. on Sunday at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget, Ill.