Melbourne, Fla. – Lynn University's 11th-ranked baseball was in a prime position for the win Friday night but No. 9 Florida Tech came out on top with a 5-4 victory.  Max Watt struck out nine batters in five innings but Bill Mendek suffered his first loss of the year in relief.  The Fighting Knights drop to 12-4 overall and 0-1 in the Sunshine State Conference.

Errors took hold of the Panthers (16-0, 2-0 SSC) in the second and the Blue & White capitalized by grabbing a 2-0 lead.  After an error put runners on first and second, Ben Schwanberg followed with a single to load the bases and Michael Stemle drove home the first run with a sacrifice fly.  Two walks later, the second with the bases loaded, and Lynn earned its second run.

The Fighting Knights' defense failed in the third when a throw on a stolen base attempt sailed into center field.  Watt induced a weak ground ball to short, cutting his lead in half 2-1, and then retired the next two batters.

Lynn then increased its advantage to 4-1 in the fourth off of a two-run single by Thomas Kain.  He now has 20 RBI in 16 games played this year.

Watt once again dominated his opponent, allowing only four hits over five innings while striking out nine with four walks.  He was replaced by Mendek in the sixth after throwing 115 pitches.

Lynn's All-American closer had trouble in the windy conditions of Seminick-Hall Field and surrendered four runs in the sixth and seventh innings.  A dropped fly ball in the seventh contributed with the team's struggles as a potential one out and a runner on first scenario turned into no outs and runners on second and third.  Florida Tech was able to take advantage of Lynn's mistake and plate the winning run.

The Fighting Knights were robbed by the Panthers' defense in the ninth as Matt Tietz's line drive down the right field line was snagged mid-air by the first baseman on a quick reflex play to end the game with a runner on base.

Lynn battles Florida Tech with a noon doubleheader on Saturday, March 7.  Fans can listen to the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @Lynn_Knights on Twitter and Instagram.