Saint Leo, Fla. – Lynn University's offense came to play in the softball series opener at Saint Leo.  Unfortunately, the Fighting Knights fell on the wrong side of an 18-10 game on Friday night.  Four players logged multiple hits while Danielle McNeill, Kaci Vassallo and Sara Vazquez also recorded multiple runs batted in.  Lynn drops to 20-26 overall and 4-15 in the Sunshine State Conference.

The Blue & White gained an early 6-0 lead as they sent 12 batters to the plate, belted six hits and took advantage of two Lions' errors.  McNeill singled twice in the inning, scoring the first and driving in the last run of the frame.  In between Vassallo, McEnry and Sara Vazquez notched RBI base hits.

Saint Leo (24-18, 6-10 SSC) slowly closed the gap with a pair of runs in the second, chasing starter Kasey Murray from the game and making way for Missy Montgomery.  The junior right-hander did not fare any better as the Green & Gold sent 12 batters to the plate themselves, scoring seven runs on nine hits to grab a 9-6 lead.

The Lions tacked on three more runs in the fifth to make it 12-6 but the Fighting Knights did not give up, scoring four times in the sixth to cut the deficit to 12-10.  Vazquez, McNeill and Kochergen recorded back-to-back-to-back RBI singles and Vassallo was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to keep the game close.

Another key error in the home half of the frame, though, allowed Saint Leo to tack on six runs and end the game via a run-rule.  The Lions had scored four but a two-out infield error kept the inning alive and led to the final Saint Leo runs.

Lynn meets-up with Saint Leo for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday in hopes of taking the series.  Fans can watch the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com.