BOCA RATON, Fla. – Lynn University's 14th-ranked baseball team initially hit stormy seas against Rollins but the clouds parted and the Fighting Knights pulled away 13-8 in the series opener on Friday.  Jimmy O'Neill was brilliant in relief, tossing six innings to earn the victory, and Alex DeBellis went 3-for-5 with a home run and three runs batted in.  Lynn improves to 31-11 overall and 12-7 in the Sunshine State Conference.

Tars' starter Matt Tulley looked as though he would not last the first after the Blue & White bounced all over him with four runs.  Kyle Carter drove home the first run with a double into the right center gap and DeBellis did the rest of the damage with a towering home run over the right center field fence to bring home three runs.

Rollins, though, took advantage of Carter's wildness on the mound.  The junior southpaw needed over 50 pitches to get through two innings of work and surrendered two runs in the second inning.  Lynn added some cushion in the home half with a run but the Tars (19-24, 4-15 SSC) got after Carter in the third with four runs, including a two-run shot from Chris Corbett, to take a 6-5 lead.

A successful double steal in the fourth led to the Fighting Knights knotting the game 6-6.  Matt Ackerman was chased back to the bag as Albert Lefran trotted across home plate.  Rollins regained the lead in the fifth off a Christian Coburn squeeze bunt but Lynn had big innings in the fifth and sixth to pull away.

DeBellis keyed a three-run fifth with a double down the left field line and scored from second with two outs when Michael Stemle's hard hit ball deflected off the third baseman's glove and trickled into the outfield, tying the game 7-7.  Two more double steals with Stemle and Lefran on base helped give Lynn the 9-7 advantage.

A home run from Nick Breen cut the deficit to 9-8 in the seventh but Ben Schwanburg responded with a two-out, two-run single up the middle.  He came around to score on the third of three hits from Lefran.

Matt Tietz tacked on the final run for good measure, tattooing a ball off reliever Spencer Mumford and sending it into the trees in left field as Mike Dolan didn't even turn to make a play.  It was his seventh home run of the year, tying him with Carter for the team-lead.

O'Neill allowed eight hits in six innings after Carter was relieved in the fourth.  He fanned three batters and walked one to improve to 5-3 overall. Thomas Kain went 3-for-5 at the plate and Stemle and Lefran were solid at the bottom of the lineup, combining to go 5-for-7 with four runs scored, two RBI and four stolen bases.  Matt Ackerman also reached base four times with three walks and a bean ball.

Lynn looks to take the series with a Saturday doubleheader against Rollins.  First pitch is slated for noon and fans can watch the action live at LynnFightingKnihgts.com.  Receive in-game updates as well by following @Lynn_Knights on Twitter and Instagram.