Miami Shores, Fla. – In what started out as a pitcher's duel finished up as a tough 8-1 loss for Lynn University's 16th-ranked baseball team at Barry University on Friday night.  Starter Max Watt suffered his first loss of the season as the Fighting Knights drop to 20-6 overall and 4-3 in the Sunshine State Conference.

Wildness affected Buccaneer's starter Joeanthony Rivera after he served up a lead-off single to Matt Ackerman.  Consecutive wild pitches brought the Blue & White lead-off hitter to third base and a double steal attempt gave Lynn a 1-0 lead in the first.

Watt, though, surrendered a lead-off triple before a strike three passed ball knotted the game 1-1.  Barry (13-10, 3-4 SSC) used two more wild pitches to put another runner in scoring position before a fielder's choice put the Fighting Knights in a 2-1 hole.

Lynn had a couple of chances to even up the contest but Rivera deftly maneuvered through the lineup to keep the game 2-1 in the Buccaneer's favor.  Watt ran into trouble in the second and fourth innings but was able to get timely strikeouts to keep his team close.  He would finish with six K's in 5.1 innings pitched but allowed two runs, one earned, on eight hits.

AJ Falletta and Bill Mendek pitched in the seventh and battled some inconsistency as Barry used four walks and a hit by pitch to build a 6-1 lead.  The Bucs added two more on a home run in the eighth off Jonathon Eisdorfer.

Lynn returns to the diamond on Saturday, March 21, for a noon doubleheader against the Buccaneers.  Fans can watch the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @Lynn_Knights on Twitter and Instagram.