Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. – Lynn University's fifth-ranked baseball team took a step in the right direction towards an NCAA Tournament bid by winnings its sixth consecutive Sunshine State Conference series with an 11-9, 10-0 sweep over No. 21 Nova Southeastern Saturday afternoon. Thomas Kain and Sal Giardina delivered the offensive punch, going 10-for-15 with eight RBI combined, and Travis Connelly delivered his second complete game shutout of the season on the mound. The Fighting Knights are now 32-8 overall and 14-4 in the SSC, marking the third consecutive 30-win season and 14th in program history.
This marks the highest-scoring three-game series Lynn has put forth this year. The Blue & White plated 30 runs, surpassing the 28 runs against Stillman and 20 runs against Barry in league play.
Game one starter Daniel Patrick was given a 6-0 lead before he even threw a pitch. Nova Southeastern's defense didn't help matters by committing two errors, leading to three unearned runs. Giardina drove home two with a bases loaded single and Alex DeBellis followed with a RBI single up the middle to make it 3-0.
With the bases loaded once again, the Sharks first baseman looked for an inning-ending play at the plate but the throw home sailed into the dugout, allowing two runs to score while keeping the frame alive. Michael Stemle made them pay with a RBI single for the 6-0 lead.
Patrick surrendered two in the home half off a home run but saw his team tally runs in the second and third innings from Mike Gonzalez and Kain base hits. Nova (24-13, 8-10 SSC) was able to get close while chasing Lynn's starter from the game with three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. Luckily, Lynn scored once in the fifth from Giardina's third RBI and made it 11-8 with a Stemle RBI double and Freedman run-scoring single in the sixth.
AJ Falleta picked up his sixth victory in relief when he came on for Patrick in the fifth and halted NSU's rally. Andrew Melchor entered in the sixth and shut down the Shark's offense, fanning six batters while allowing one run in the seventh. With the tying run at the plate in the ninth, the senior closer fanned Alvin Swoope on a check swing to take the series.
Connelly (3-3) gave the Fighting Knights the sweep with an outstanding performance on the mound in game two. The right-hander faced just two batters over the minimum of 21, surrendering only three hits with one walk while matching his season-high with five strikeouts.
Lynn needed only two quality innings to put the game away on the offensive end. The potent combo of Kain and Giardina ignited the batting sparks in the second with consecutive doubles to put the Blue & White ahead 2-0. Both players have combined for 31 doubles and 67 RBIs this season.
Sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs in the fourth said it all for the series. Nova Southeastern also committed two more errors, leading to four more unearned runs. Stemle, Kain and Giardina logged RBI base hits to start things off before a three-run error kept the inning alive. Matt Ackerman ended the scoring run with a triple to left field.
In addition to the bats of Lynn's 3-4 hitters, Ackerman went 3-for-6 while Stemle was 3-for-8 with three RBIs and two stolen bases.
The Fighting Knights are back on the diamond Tuesday, April 15, at 3 p.m. against St. Thomas (Fla.) when they begin a 10-game home stand to close out the regular season. Fans can watch the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @LUKnights on Twitter and Instagram.
