BARTOW, Fla. – The Lynn University softball team kicked off its run at The Spring Games on Saturday afternoon in dominant fashion, erupting for a 20-run offensive showcase against Dominican (N.Y.) before following it up with a pitching-led shutout of Wayne State. Behind a historic offensive outburst and a dominant complete-game effort in the circle, the Fighting Knights pushed their winning streak to four games and improved to 4-9 overall on the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. Dominican):
- Lynn fell behind 1-0 in the first inning before responding with 11 runs of their own to take an 11-1 lead
- Quinn Lockhart walked to start the rally, then stole second and third base
- Kyleigh Hope laid down an RBI bunt to tie the game at 1–1
- Onnalee Floriano singled to right field, advancing the runner
- Riley stepped up and hit a three-run home run, giving the Fighting Knights a 4–1 lead
- Marina Goins singled to left field, advancing Savannah Ellis, who got on base by a walk
- Cara Willis reached on a fielder's choice, moving the runner to third
- Kylee Dodson singled up the middle for an RBI, making the score 5–1
- Kaela Santiago doubled, bringing in another run for a 6–1 lead. Lockhart added an RBI single, extending the lead to 7–1
- Hope followed with a two-RBI double, stretching the lead to 9–1
- In her second plate appearance of the inning, Riley homered again, bringing in two more runs to cap the first inning with Lynn leading 11–1
- Lynn shut down the Chargers in the top of the second inning, allowing just one hit
- Kaylah Comeau entered as a pinch hitter and doubled to right field, bringing home two runs to extend the lead to 13–1
- The Chargers scored two runs in the third inning, trimming the deficit to 13–3
- Floriano tripled to right field and later scored on an in-field error, making it 14–3
- Willis singled, and Jordan Terefenko doubled to left-center field, driving in two more runs for a 16–3 lead
- Kylie Burden walked, stole second, and later scored on a fielding error, extending the lead to 17–3
- Riley doubled, bringing another runner home to make it 18–3
- Goins added a double, scoring Riley and pushing the lead to 19–3
- Terefenko capped the scoring with a single to left-center field, bringing home Ariana Rego
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS (vs. Dominican):
-The Fighting Knights featured four players with multi-hit games: Hope, Riley, Terefenko, and Comeau
- Riley went 3-for-4 at the dish, recording two homeruns and a double for six RBI
-Hope had a 2-for-2 day, recording a double and three RBI
-Lockhart had one hit, one RBI, one walk, and scored twice while swiping three bags
-The Fighting Knights tied for the second most runs in a game (20), and hits in a game (18).
- The Blue and White's 20 runs mark the most runs in a game for the Fighting Knights since Lynn recorded 20 against Ave Maria in 2014
-The Fighting Knights also tied the game record for most runs batted in at 20 RBI (tying 20 RBI against Lees-McRae in 2010
HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. Wayne State):
- Both teams opened the game quietly as Lynn went down in order in the first and Wayne State stranded three runners after loading the bases following a walk, single and Lynn error
- The pitching staffs settled in early, with neither team recording a hit through the first three innings for Lynn and the Wildcats managing just two baserunners through the first two frames
- Lynn broke the scoreless tie in the fourth when Kyleigh Hope singled and pinch runner Quinn Lockhart stole second before advancing to third on a Wayne State error
- Lockhart later scored on another Wildcats error to give the Fighting Knights a 1-0 lead
- The Fighting Knights added an insurance run in the fifth after Savan Ellis worked a walk and pinch runner Kylie Burden advanced on a sacrifice bunt and a passed ball
- Kayla Comeau then laid down a sacrifice bunt that brought Burden home to extend the lead to 2-0
- Lynn's pitching and defense controlled the game in the middle innings, allowing just two hits through the first five frames while stranding multiple Wayne State runners
- The Wildcats threatened in the fifth with a single and walk but a flyout to right field ended the inning and preserved the two-run advantage
- Wayne State put a runner in scoring position in the sixth after a walk and wild pitch, but Lynn recorded a flyout and strikeout to keep the shutout intact
- The Fighting Knights added a late baserunner in the seventh with a single from Ellis, but Wayne State escaped the inning without damage
- Lynn closed out the game in the bottom of the seventh as the defense recorded three straight outs to secure the 2-0 shutout victory
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS: (vs. Wayne State):
- Gabriella Lindsey delivered a complete-game shutout, tossing 7.0 innings while allowing just three hits with six strikeouts and four walks to earn her second win of the season
- Lynn held Wayne State scoreless despite the Wildcats entering the game with a 14-3 record, limiting them to just three hits in 25 at-bats
- The Fighting Knights recorded two hits in the contest, coming from Hope and Ellis
- Lockhart scored the game's first run after entering as a pinch runner, stealing second and later scoring in the fourth inning
- Comeau delivered the lone RBI of the game with a sacrifice bunt in the fifth inning to extend the lead to 2-0
- Lynn manufactured runs offensively with two sacrifice bunts and aggressive baserunning, including a stolen base by Lockhart
- Defensively, the Fighting Knights held Wayne State to 0-for-7 with runners on base, stranding eight Wildcats throughout the game
UP NEXT:
Lynn continues its run in The Spring Games on Sunday afternoon when it takes on Clarion (Penn.) at 12:30 pm and American International at 3:00 pm
