BOCA RATON, Fla. – A three-run home run by Sal Giardina in the bottom of the sixth inning off Michael Knott led Lynn University's fifth-ranked baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of Florida Tech by the scores of 6-2 and 4-3 on Friday afternoon. Giardina was 2-for-4 on the day with two runs scored and three runs batted in. Jed Vandernaald picked up his team-leading sixth victory on the mound. The Fighting Knights improve to 23-5 overall and 7-1 in the Sunshine State Conference.
Trailing 3-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth of game two, the Blue & White began to mount their comeback when Alex Freedman doubled just inside the first base line. Lynn's leading RBI hitter Tom Kain came to the plate and moved ahead in the count 3-0 but starter Grant Willcoxon battled back with two strikes. Kain would not chase an off-speed pitch in the dirt and Lynn had the tying run on base.
Giardina came to the plate with two outs and having already hit one game-winning home run this season. The senior slugger unloaded on a 1-1 curve, sending his third blast of the year over the telephone lines in right field. He now leads the team with 26 RBIs.
Closer Andrew Melchor stepped to the bump in the top of the seventh and fanned Andrew Bartlett to start the frame. He received some major defensive help when Michael Stemle made an over-the-shoulder diving catch at the warning track on a ball hit by Dan Bodziak and then ended the game with a deep fly ball from clean-up hitter Austin Allen for his fourth save of the year.
Starter Travis Connelly went five innings with one strikeout and six hits allowed but gave up three runs, two of which were earned. Florida Tech scored first in the top of the first off a throwing error in the infield and tallied two more runs in the third following a Jorge Chavarria double.
Lynn was able to knot the game at one in the first behind a double-play ball from Kain. Bobby Kruse picked up his second win after maneuvering through a two-on, no out situation in the sixth, fanning two batters, including the third out with runners on second and third.
Florida Tech (17-11, 2-6 SSC) entered the day having lost its last two series and came out aggressive. A leadoff triple from Bartlett had the Panthers off to the right start and a batter later had them up 1-0. FIT would notch four hits in the first two frames but poor base running, coupled with heads-up plays by Lynn's defense kept the Panthers of the board.
In the first, Florida Tech had a runner thrown out a third after over running the base and in the second, catcher Sal Giardina was able to tag out Jimmie Koch in an attempt to steal second.
The Blue & White battled back to take the lead in the third and never looked back. A double-steal from Michael Stemle and Enrique Perez earned Lynn its first run while Alex Freedman followed with an RBI single. Matt Ackerman later made it 3-1 with a RBI single to right to score Alex DeBellis, who had doubled to open the frame.
Three runs in the sixth put the Fighting Knights on top 6-1 as Ackerman drove home his second run of the game with a double and Albert LeFran added two more with a single to center field.
After the rough opening two frames, Vandernaald settled down and held Florida Tech without a hit until the seventh. The Panthers managed to score one but Kyle Butcher kept them from further damage with a scoreless inning of relief. Bill Mendek then struck out two in two more scoreless innings.
Lynn will be looking for the sweep in the series finale, beginning at noon on Saturday, March 22. Fans can watch the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @LUKnights on Twitter and Instagram.
