BOCA RATON, Fla. – The sun was setting and it appeared Lynn University's baseball team would need another day to complete its doubleheader against Stillmann until Sal Giardina Jr., blasted a full count two-run home run to give the Fighting Knights two wins on Saturday. Lynn claimed a 9-7 victory in the first meeting and took the twinbill 8-6. Giardina and Matt Ackerman combined to go 8-for-16 with two home runs and eight runs batted in.
Leading 6-5 heading into the final inning, the Tigers (3-5) turned to their closer, Jordan Mata, to finish up the split. Back-to-back singles from Enrique Perez and Alex Freedman brought different thoughts but with darkness creeping in, the inning would have to be played out quickly.
Mata would retire Thomas Kain and Alex DeBellis but the latter's ground ball moved his teammates up a base. Freedman took a big lead at second base and Stillman's reliever could not look past the bait as he attempted a pick-off to end the game. Fortunately for the Blue & White, the throw hit the Tigers' second baseman in the shin, allowing Perez to trot home and tie the game at six.
With the sun well below the horizon and a 3-2 count on Giardina, Mata let loose a hanging curveball that Giardina took full advantage of. The senior out of Tampa, Fla., smashed a moon shot over the fence in right center field, flipped his bat and ran around the bases for the walk-off home run. An ocean of white jerseys and plenty of back smacks awaited Giardina as he crossed home plate.
It was with the bat of Giardina and Ackerman in the opening frame that Lynn grabbed a 4-0 lead. Consecutive extra-base hits drove in three before a fielding error allowed Ackerman to score.
Stillman was not giving up, scoring once in the second and three more times in the third to knot the game up. Michael Stemle put the Blue & White back up in the fourth with a sacrifice fly but the Tigers responded with two more in the fifth from a Trent Posey double, chasing starter Travis Connelly from the game and giving Stillman its 6-5 lead.
Kyle Butcher came on in relief and tossed two scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the season.
Lynn starter Jed Vandernaald also had some trouble in the early goings in game one of the series. The Tigers scored three times in the third, taking advantage of four consecutive base hits.
The Fighting Knights opened up the offense in the fifth, though, batting around to score five runs. Stemle and Freedman smacked doubles to make it 3-1 before Kain evened things up with a two-run home run to deep left center field. Ackerman drove in his first run of the game with a sacrifice fly and Ben Schwanburg padded the team's cushion with a RBI single.
An error in the seventh allowed Giardina to make it a 6-3 game and Ackerman followed with another two-run shot to left field, putting Lynn on top 8-3.
Vandernaald settled down after the second and tossed six innings with six strikeouts. Unfortunately, the Fighting Knights bullpen walked the bases loaded and then walked a run in, forcing head coach Rudy Garbalosa to bring in closer Bill Mendek.
Mendek battled with some wildness but was able to limit the damage to four runs while maintaining the team's 8-7 lead. Alex DeBellis added an insurance run in the eighth when he belted his first home run of the year, a solo shot to left field.
Lynn will look to complete the sweep on Sunday, February 16, at 11 a.m. Fans can watch the game live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @LUKnights on Twitter, Instagram and Vine.
