BOCA RATON, Fla. – The clouds parted ways and allowed Lynn University's fourth-ranked baseball team to get in two games against Saint Leo on Friday afternoon.  Game one, which was split over two days, was taken 5-3 by the Lions but the Fighting Knights came back to win 3-1 in the second contest.  Sal Giardina went 4-for-6 with two runs and a RBI and Daniel Patrick tossed six shutout innings to pick up his fifth win on the mound.  Lynn moves to 33-9 overall and 15-5 in the Sunshine State Conference.

Having failed to get out of the fourth inning in his previous two starts, Patrick was on-point from the opening pitch.  He allowed only five hits while fanning four batters.

He was given a 2-0 lead after the first frame when an error by the Lions first baseman kept Lynn alive.  Giardina made Saint Leo pay with a RBI single up the middle and was followed by a RBI base hit from Mike Gonzalez, the first of two on the day for the senior right fielder.

Giardina and Gonzalez would ignite a third run in the seventh off a sacrifice fly to give the Blue & White a 3-0 advantage.

Head coach Rudy Garbalosa went to the bullpen in the seventh and the Lions (28-13, 10-7 SSC) were able to put one on the scoreboard off of Andrew Melchor.  The Fighting Knights, though, induced a pair of double-plays in the seventh and eighth innings while Melchor struck out pinch-hitter Jordan Taylor looking to pick up his seventh save of the season.

Rain forced the halting of the first game after starting play on Friday afternoon.  Saint Leo jumped on starter Jed Vandernaald (8-2) early with two runs in the first but Lynn scored three times in the second to grab a 3-2 lead.

Matt Ackerman drove in the first run with a RBI single to right field before Albert Lefran and Michael Stemle added RBI base knocks.

Lynn's defense did not help matters for Vandernaald as it committed four errors on the day, leading to three unearned runs.  The Lions took advantage of gaffes in the fourth and sixth innings to chase the Fighting Knights starter while bringing Bill Mendek to the mound.  Just as the tall right-hander was about to throw his first pitch, rain suspended play till Saturday.

Facing a bases loaded situation with two outs, Mendek induced an inning-ending ground ball to keep his team alive.  The Blue & White, though, could not capitalize with runners in scoring position and less than two outs in three of the final four innings.  

The fourth error of the game allowed Saint Leo to pad its lead 5-3.  Mendek allowed one unearned run on four hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 3.1 innings of relief work.

Lynn will look to take the series with a tentatively scheduled single game at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 19.  Fans can watch the game live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @LUKnights on Twitter and Instagram.