BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Lynn University baseball team closed the book on the 2024 season by earning two wins in a three-game series with No. 1 Tampa. In the first game of a doubleheader on Friday, the Spartans earned a 7-0 win, while the Fighting Knights rallied for a 3-1 victory in the nightcap. The Blue and White opened the series with a 9-5 win on Thursday.
Lynn closes the season at 22-27 overall with 15 of those victories coming at home.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1):
- Tampa scored single runs in the first, fourth, fifth and seventh innings and tacked two in the eighth
- E.J. Cumbo drove in two runs for the visitors while four Spartan pitchers combined for an eight-hit shutout
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Peter Avino paced Lynn with two hits (2-for-4)
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AJ Orrico,
Cole Fowler,
Shawn Dougherty,
Juan Carlos Camarena,
Deric LaMontagne and
Jesse Robinson each added one hit
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Devin Sweeney endured the loss after striking out five in 5.2 innings while surrendering three runs (two earned)
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 2):
- Tampa jumped out to a 1-0 lead with its only run of the second game in the third inning
- Lynn starter
Austin Barnao left after six inning, allowing just the one run
- The Fighting Knights started their rally in the seventh when Avino led off with a double, followed by a single from Orrico
- Two batters later,
Leon Paulino singled home Avino and Dougherty hit a sacrifice fly to center that plated Orrico for a 2-1 Lynn lead
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Julio Camarena singled in the eighth, advanced to second on a ground out and scored on a single to right by Avino
- In the ninth, reliever
Drew Clark induced a double play and finished the game with a strikeout to seal the Fighting Knight win
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- Barnao's pitching line: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 SO
- Clark's pitching line: 3 IP, 2 H, 3 SO
- Clark improved to 3-1 on the season and finished the year with a 2.48 ERA over 36.1 IP
- Avino collected four hits on the day to raise his 2024 batting average to .302
- Paulino finished the season with an SSC-leading 12 home runs, 56 RBI and 116 total bases
- Lynn pitching held a Tampa lineup that averaged 10.3 runs per game entering the series to just 4.3 runs per game over the three games
