Melbourne, Fla. – A dominant pitching performance carried Lynn University's baseball team to a 4-0 game one victory but wildness on the mound led to a 6-0 loss in game two against Florida Tech on Saturday. Jed Vandernaald tossed seven shutout innings, striking out a career-high 10 batters for his fourth victory. Ryan Lashley extended his hitting streak to 12 games in the first contest but saw it end in the afternoon. The Fighting Knights' record moves to 22-11 overall and 6-3 in the Sunshine State Conference.
Coming off the previous night where LU was held scoreless, the Fighting Knights came out swinging in the first game of the doubleheader, logging four hits through the first three innings of play. Lynn's luck finally came through in the fourth when a fielding error allowed Paul Stortini to reach base. Two batters later, Cory Elasik drove him home with a two-out RBI double.
The offensive floodgates stayed open in the fifth when Mike Gonzalez posted the first of his two hits in the game with a single to center field. A sac bunt later, Alex Freedman put Lynn on top 2-0 with a RBI single into right center field. Ryan Lashley then cleared the bases with a towering shot to left field, extending his hitting streak to 12 games.
A 4-0 lead was all the support Vandernaald needed as the junior right-hander was dominant from the first pitch he threw. He fanned a career-best 10 batters in seven innings while walking just one and allowing three hits. He struck out at least two hitters in three frames while setting down the side in the fourth.
Andrew Melchor entered in the eighth and kept Florida Tech's bats at bay, allowing an infield single and striking out one in two innings of work.
Lynn had its chances in the second game of the twinbill when Paul Stortini doubled and moved to third on a wild pitch with one out. But Scotty Ward struck out the next batter and then ended the threat with a ground ball to first.
Kentrail Pierce had little trouble over the first three innings but could not find the plate in the fourth, walking the bases loaded with two outs. David Johannessen then cleared all three ducks on the pond with a double to the left center gap. A second double by Jorge Chavarria made it 4-0 Florida Tech (23-10, 8-4 SSC).
An error in the sixth added two more runs for FIT.
The Fighting Knights are back in action on Tuesday, April 2, at 6:30 p.m. when they face cross-city rival Florida Atlantic. Fans can catch the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @LUKnights on Twitter and Instagram.
