BOCA RATON, Fla. – Regardless of whether he comes out of the bullpen or starts, Bill Mendek gets it done.  The junior right-hander tossed seven shutouts innings in his first start to lead Lynn University's 19th-ranked baseball team past Adelphi 8-1 on Monday afternoon.  Sal Giardina went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs batted to help the Fighting Knights improve to 19-4 overall.

After going 11-0 with 10 complete games last season at Gloucester Community College, Mendek started the season in relief.  The junior from Blackwood, N.J., dominated with a 2-0 record, five saves and a 0.47 earned run average but showed head coach Rudy Garbalose he may have a tough decision going forward.

In his first start of the season, Mendek struck out three batters and allowed only six hits to improve to 3-0 while lowering his ERA to a miniscule 0.34.  He also did not record a walk and has now issued just two free passes with 20 K's in 26.1 innings of work this season.

Giardina smacked his team-best eighth double of the season to start the second inning and Joe Anzeveno followed with a RBI single to get the scoring started for Lynn in the second.  Michael Stemle then drove in a run in the fourth with a bases loaded ground out to the third baseman.

A RBI single by Giardina in the fifth and a two-run error by the Panthers' third baseman in the sixth helped push the Blue & White lead to 5-0.  

Adelphi (1-4) had its chances to put a run on the board, most notably in the second with no outs and the bases loaded but Mendek induced a double-play and struck out the next batter to end the threat.

Lynn sent nine batters to the plate in the eighth, scoring three more times to grab an 8-0 advantage.  Mike Gonzalez drove home Michael Stemle, who had swiped two bases to get to third, and trotted home following the first of three wild pitches from Ryan Corry.  A bases loaded walk to Giardina ended Lynn's runs.

The Fighting Knights' bullpen continued its dominance on the year, starting with Kyle Butcher.  The senior lefty fanned one in a scoreless eighth while Andrew Melchor struck out two but was on the wrong side of an inning-ending error in the ninth to allow the Panthers' only run.

Stemle finished the game with three stolen bases and is now 12-13 in stolen base attempts this season.  Giardina and DeBellis also extended their streak of reaching base in consecutive games to 23.

Lynn returns to the diamond for a pivotal Sunshine State Conference road series in Lakeland, Fla., against Florida Southern beginning on Friday, March 14, at 6 p.m.  Fans can listen to the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @LUKnights on Twitter, Instagram and Vine.