Melbourne, Fla. - Lynn University's 11th-ranked baseball team split its doubleheader with ninth-ranked Florida Tech on Saturday, falling 11-5 in game one before winning game two 4-3 and ending the Panther's 17-game winning streak.  Jimmy O'Neill earned the win on the mound while Bill Mendek came on to earn his fourth save of the season.  The Fighting Knights improve to 13-5 overall and 1-2 in the Sunshine State Conference.

Game two proved a pitcher's duel between O'Neill and FIT's Willcoxon.  Lyn struck in the first inning with a RBI ground out from Matt Tietz but the two squads would go scoreless into the sixth frame when the Panthers (17-1, 3-1 SSC) finally got to O'Neill to even the game 1-1.

Michael Stemle snapped the tie in the seventh inning with an RBI infield single as Lynn broke open the game with three runs.  Matt Ackerman followed with a RBI base knock to right field and the Blue & White earned the final run when reliever Beyer's wild pitch plated Stemle.

O'Neill tossed six innings, allowing six hits with one earned run and three strikeouts.  He moved to 3-1 on the season.  Jonathon Wake relieved him in the seventh and allowed two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts.

Bill Mendek came on in the ninth with two runners on and one out looking to put behind him the blown save from the previous night.  He struck out the first batter but an infield hit loaded the bases.  The next batter hit a screamer past Kain to plate two runs but a heads-up play by catcher Alex DeBellis ended the game after the Panthers' runner tried to reach third base.

Game one was as an offensive battle but was mired by a scary moment when reliever Ryan Caporice was hit in the head by a line drive, halting play.  Florida Tech scored three runs in the first two frames, two of which came off an error, before Lynn took the lead in the fifth.

Matt Ackerman drove in the first run for the Fighting Knights with the first of his two doubles.  Thomas Kain followed with a pair of sacrifice flies in the third and fifth innings and John Borup added a RBI single.

Florida Tech would tie the game in the bottom of the fifth but Lynn retook the lead in the seventh after an Ackerman single scored Stemle from second base.

Baseball became an afterthought in the home half of the seventh after Grant McKown's line drive went off of Caporice's face and bounced to first base.  Both teams and fans sat in silence as medical personnel attended to Lynn's junior pitcher.  The Thonotosassa, Fla., native would return to the field in game two to cheer on his team to victory.

Two errors opened the floodgates and allowed Florida Tech to score five runs, only two of which were earned.  Another run in the eighth gave FIT an 11-5 lead.

Travis Connolly earned the start and allowed nine hits, four runs, two earned, with a walk and three strikeouts in six innings of work.

Lynn is back in action on Wednesday, March 11, at 3 p.m. when it hosts Northwood (Fla.).  Fans can watch the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @Lynn_Knights on Twitter and Instagram.

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