Jupiter, Fla. – Looking for redemption from a year ago, Lynn University's baseball team opened its 2011 season with an 8-4 victory over Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday night. Eric Herrera went 3-for-5 with a RBI and two runs scored while Andrew Virgili was dominant on the mound with seven strikeouts in four innings pitched. This marks the fourth consecutive year LU has won its season-opener.
After a one-two-three first frame, the Fighting Knights put a four-spot on the scoreboard in the top of the second. Kyle Radzewski drove in the first run of the season with a bases loaded sacrifice fly to deep left field. Phil Mannelly loaded the bags a batter later with an infield single and LU took a 2-0 lead when Johnny Broderick snuck a single past the infield .
Patience at the plate put Lynn on top 3-0 later in the inning when Austin Smith drew a five-pitch walk to plate Mannelly and Alex Bello drove in the first of his two runs with a ground out to second.
Virgili kept the Sailfish hitters off-balance throughout his time on the mound. The junior transfer fanned two in the first, one in the second, and two more in each of the third and fourth frames. He allowed just one base hit, a dribbler through the left side, and did not issue a walk.
Derstine made it a 5-0 Lynn lead in the fifth with a sacrifice fly to center field and the Blue & White used their speed to add a sixth run. With two outs, Herrera stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball then took a chance on a wild pitch that rolled eight feet from the plate to score.
Kyle Wolfe picked up the victory with three innings of relief. The local product out of Jupiter, Fla., allowed one run on three hits and struck out two.
Taking a 7-0 lead following a Bello sac fly in the sixth, Palm Beach Atlantic finally got its first run in the bottom of the frame when Taylor Kaprive drove in Jorge Chavarria with a single through the right side. Lynn got out of trouble though with a inning-ending double-play by Luis Mejia. The Knights turned three double-plays on the night.
Both teams exchanged runs in the eighth and LU appeared to be cruising to the win. But a pair of fielding errors in the bottom of the ninth led to two unearned PBA runs. Lynn turned two on a fantastic play off a ground ball to first and Bello ended the game by catching a foul ball down the right field line.
The Fighting Knights return to the field on Wednesday, February 2, at 6 p.m. when they travel to Miami Gardens to take on St. Thomas (Fla.). Fans can follow the game through live stats by logging on to www.LynnFightingKnights.com and selecting "Game Central."
