LAKELAND, Fla. – The Bridgewater College baseball team lost its second straight game as the Eagles fell to Rhodes College, 9-4, Tuesday morning.

Rhodes jumped out to a quick lead with a run in the top of the first. Bill Munson singled to lead off the game against Eagles starter Kyle Henshaw and stole second to move into scoring position. Henshaw struck the next two batters out, but Strother White singled to left to plate Munson, giving the Lynx a 1-0 lead.

Bridgewater answered in the bottom half of the inning against Rhodes starter Thomas Beamish. With one out, Ryan Fitzgerald doubled down the right-field line. Fitzgerald moved to third when Bryan Sanderson reached on an error and then scored on Brendan Howell's single to right-center, tying the score at 1-1.

The teams traded runs again in the third inning.

Josh Goodwin reached on an error but was erased at second on Josh Keen's fielder's choice. Keen was then thrown out trying to steal second for the second out of the inning. Munson walked to keep the inning going and swiped second base. Munson scored on Justin Genter's single to center, giving Rhodes a 2-1 lead.

Nick Fulk reached on an error to start off Bridgewater's half of the inning and moved to second on Fitzgerald's sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Howell singled to center, scoring Fulk and tying the game at 2-2.

The Lynx took advantage of a pair of Bridgewater errors to score two runs in the fourth. White reached on an error to start the inning and then scored all the way from first when Brendan DePoy's bunt was thrown away at first. With two outs, DePoy scored on a single by Goodwin, giving the Lynx a 4-2 lead.

Rhodes added another run in the fifth with Munson once again in the middle of the action. The Rhodes shortstop singled and stole second, his third stolen base of the game. Henshaw retired the next two hitters before White delivered a two-out, RBI-single to center, giving the Lynx a 5-2 lead.

Rhodes padded its lead with two more runs in the top of the sixth. The Lynx loaded the bases against Eagles relief pitcher Ryan Leake on a walk, a single by Walker McWhorter and a Bridgewater error. Keen was hit by a pitch to force in one run and Munson walked to force in another run, giving Rhodes a 7-2 lead. Leake minimized the damage by striking out Genter and then inducing Ryan Olive to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Bridgewater got those two runs back in its half of the sixth. With one out, Zach Hynes walked and pinch-hitter Dustin Garst singled to left, putting runners at the corners. Pinch-hitter Kenner Berry reached on an error with Hynes scoring on the play, making the score 7-3. Hunter Hensley, pinch-running for Garst, scored on Fulk's groundout to pull the Eagles to within 7-4.

Rhodes tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the ninth when pinch-hitter Andrew Wallis singled with the bases-loaded to drive in a pair of runs, making the score 9-4.

Bridgewater finished the game with 11 hits, but left 11 runners stranded. Howell paced the offense with a 4-for-4 day at the plate and two RBIs. Sanderson added two hits for the Eagles.

Bridgewater, now 9-5 on the season returns to action Wednesday when the Eagles play Suffolk. First pitch is set for 11:30 a.m.