BOCA RATON, Fla. - Lynn University's softball team held close to the University of Tampa but could not get past the Spartans, falling 2-0 in the opener of the Sunshine State Conference series.  Missy Montgomery tossed 5.1 scoreless innings of relief for the Fighting Knights, who drop to 20-23 overall and 10-12 in league play.

Francais Olexa earned the nod in the starting circle against the Spartans (26-11, 14-8 SSC) but allowed five hits over 1.2 innings of work.  Even after an error in the first it looked as though the Blue & White would escape with no damage against.  Cherise McEnery threw out Kandi Kuder at home to give UT two outs only to have Bre Setree drive home a two-out run.

Again Lynn ran into trouble in the second, with runners on first and second with one out.  Jennie Sittloh, though, was tagged out at third and the Fighting Knights had thoughts of keeping the 1-0 deficit.  But Kuder drove in one run with a double and Lynn trailed 2-0.  

Montgomery came into the game with a runner in scoring position and induced an inning-ending ground ball to Sahrina Cortes to end the Tampa threat.  The senior hurler was nearly flawless, by allowing only three hits over the next five frames to keep the Fighting Knights close.

Christina Carvatta broke up Julia Morrow's no-hit bid in the fourth with an infield single and reached third base with one out but could not advance the final 60 feet to get her team on the board.  Lynn went on to put runners on base in each of the final two frames but the Spartans did not allow them past second to secure the win.

The Fighting Knights will honor their senior class in the final regular season games on Saturday, April 25.  First pitch against Tampa is set for 1 p.m.  Fans can watch the action live at LynnFightingKnights.com and receive in-game updates by following @Lynn_Knights on Twitter and Instagram.