BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Lynn University baseball team showed resilience down the stretch, but an early deficit proved costly in a 12-8 loss to Tampa on Friday afternoon at the Lynn Baseball Field. After falling behind by nine runs midway through the contest, the Fighting Knights erupted for five runs in the eighth and added two more in the ninth to make things interesting, but the Spartans held on to secure the Sunshine State Conference victory. With the setback, Lynn moves to 8-8 overall and 0-2 in SSC play.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Starter Ryan DiMaggio gave the Fighting Knights an early spark, retiring the first three batters with a pair of timely strikeouts
- Bryant Zayas recorded the first hit of the contest with a base knock up the middle in the bottom of the first
- The Spartans struck first, recording two runs in the top of the second on a sac fly and an RBI single
- Joel Tapia-Melo recorded the first extra-base hit of the day with a lead-off double in the bottom of the second but were unable to capitalize
- DiMaggio picked up two more strikeouts in the top of the fourth to keep the Blue and White in the contest
- Tampa piled it on in the top of the fifth, adding seven runs to take a 9-0 lead
- The Spartans added a run in the sixth but were cut off by back-to-back strikeouts from reliever Justyn Hart
- Tapia-Melo scored the first run for the Fighting Knights in the bottom of the frame, dropping a ball into the left-center gap to score Justin Lopez, 10-1
- Tampa struck back in the seventh with a solo shot to retake a 10-run lead
- The Fighting Knights struck back in the eighth inning as Kai Hutchins hit a sacrifice fly to cut the Spartans lead back down to 10
- Cole Beck came off the bench to deliver the biggest swing of the weekend with a grand slam to bring the Fighting Knights within six by the end of the eighth, 12-6
- Lynn fought back in the ninth, using RBI singles from Kyle Scheurer and Luca Arenado off the bench to make things interesting a 12-8
- With the Blue and White battling to the final out, Tampa claimed the series with a timely groundout to secure the 12-8 game two victory
 
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- As a team, Lynn totaled 10 hits in the 12-8 setback against Tampa
- The Fighting Knights scored eight runs, highlighted by a five-run eighth inning and two more in the ninth
- Beck powered the offense, going 2-for-2 with a grand slam and four RBI to ignite the late rally
- Tapia-Melo reached base four times, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs scored, one RBI and two stolen bases
- Scheurer delivered off the bench, going 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI in the final two innings
- Lashley added a hit and two walks, crossing the plate once
- Zayas chipped in a hit, a stolen base and a run scored, while Lopez added a base knock and scored in the sixth
- Arenado came through with a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth and stole a base
- Hutchins contributed an RBI sacrifice fly during Lynn's eighth-inning surge
- The Fighting Knights drew six walks and stole three bases on the afternoon
- Defensively, Lynn turned two double plays in the contest
 
UP NEXT:
Due to inclement weather expected to move into the area Saturday evening, Lynn's matchup with No. 1 Tampa has been shifted to Sunday, with first pitch set for a time to be determined.