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LAKELAND â€" Timely hitting by the 13th-ranked Fighting Knights of Lynn University allowed them to sweep Saturday’s doubleheader from the 24th-ranked Florida Southern College Moccasins 11-6 and 3-1 and take the series 2-1 at historic Henley Field.
It originally looked as though the games today were going to be hard-fought; down to the wire battles like the game last night was when sophomore right fielder Dominic Brugnoni (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) reached over the fence to bring back what would have been a leadoff homerun off the bat of Enrique Perez. That would not be the case for the first game, however, as the Fighting Knights (21-5, 5-1 SSC) tallied 15 hits including three-hit games by Thomas Kain, Alex DeBellis, Sal Giardina Jr., and Mike Gonzalez. Giardina Jr. came close to hitting a homer of his own in the second inning, but the ball died at the warning track in right center field.
FSC (17-8, 4-2 SSC) opened the scoring in the bottom half of the second when junior shortstop Casey Eddinger (Crawfordville, Fla.) brought in junior third baseman Chris Dennis (Rockledge, Fla.) with a single to short. Dennis led off the inning with a single to center, which was followed up by a Brugnoni single through the left side. Senior left fielder J.J. Downum (Land O’Lakes, Fla.) moved both runners up with a groundout to the first baseman to set up Eddinger.
It would not be until the fourth inning where Lynn would get on the scoreboard when they put up a four-spot. Giardina Jr. tied the game with a one-out single to center, and the Fighting Knights took the lead when Gonzalez singled with two outs through the right side scoring two. The final run of the inning came when Michael Stemle singled to short scoring Gonzalez. All four runs in the inning would be unearned for Mocs senior starter Brian Johnson (Oldsmar, Fla.) as the first batter of the inning reached on an error by Eddinger. Johnson fell to 2-2 with the loss and finished with five innings pitched, two earned runs, and four strikeouts.
LU would add two more runs in the next inning when Giardina Jr. earned his second of three RBI’s on the day when he pulled a single down the right field line and Ben Schwanburg grounded out to senior first baseman Trey Vavra (Menomonie, Wis.) who flipped to the covering Johnson.
The Mocs would respond in the bottom of the frame which got started with two outs as senior second baseman Conor Szczerba (Titusville, Fla.) singled to third. Senior designated hitter Jimmy Correnti (Fort Myers, Fla.) used a throwing error by the Lynn third baseman to plate Szczerba and advance to third himself. Correnti would score on a single down the right field line by junior center fielder Keith Curcio (Sarasota, Fla.). Curcio and Szczerba each had three hits in the first game.
The Fighting Knights scored runs in each of the final three innings, including three in the top of the ninth. Kain was able to be the first and only one to successfully park an FSC pitch over the wall in the seventh, and Perez singled in the eighth scoring Gonzalez. In the ninth, Lynn opened the inning with a double, triple and a single which was the cause of their first two runs that inning. The final run came when Stemle hit a sacrifice fly to Downum who came close to throwing out Giardina Jr. at the plate as he got tangled up with Miller as the throw came in.
FSC was able to start a comeback in its final chance at the plate, but fell short as they were able to plate two. Szczerba capped off his second-career three-hit game with a leadoff single to center to get the rally started. Curcio followed him two batters later with a one-out single through the middle that nearly decapitated Lynn’s Kyle Butcher. With a wild pitch and a Vavra walk the Mocs were in business with bases loaded and one out. Dennis would earn two RBI’s as the next batter with a single to the second baseman, and advanced to third when the right fielder mishandled the ball. The game would end with a Brugnoni swinging strikeout and a Miller pop up to Butcher.
The final and decisive game of the series followed suit with the game Friday night as it was back-and-forth with the chances. Lynn was threatening in their opening at-bats as Perez was able to capitalize on a throwing error by sophomore starter Ben Richardson (Orlando, Fla.). A sacrifice bunt moved him up to second and a dropped third strike forced freshman catcher Kevin Fuller (Ocala, Fla.) to throw down to first, allowing Perez to advance to third. Richardson would leave him there as a grounder that bounced off the tip of his glove was handled by the sure-handed Mocs second baseman and thrown on to first to end the threat.
The Fighting Knights would come back in the second inning with two more hits, but Richardson was once again able to get out of the jam by getting Albert Lefran to swing through a 2-2 pitch, and a pop up to Szczerba. LU would break through in the third inning, however, as Perez scored on a Kain double down the left field line.
FSC would answer in the bottom of the third inning as freshman designated hitter Scottie Withrow (Seminole, Fla.) singled up the middle and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Fuller. Downum would get hit by the next pitch which led Szczerba to singling yanking a single through the left side loading the bases. Correnti, who played shortstop in the second game, reached on a fielder’s choice to the first baseman where Withrow was out at the plate. A wild pitch allowed Downum to knot the game at one, but a groundout to the pitcher by Curcio left two runners in scoring position.
The Mocs had a chance to score again in the fourth when Vavra led off by reaching on an error by the shortstop. A failed sacrifice bunt and a fly out to right earned FSC two quick outs, but another single by Withrow, this time down the left field line, moved Dennis into scoring position. An anxious Fuller fouled out to first on the first pitch to end the inning.
The top of the seventh was led off by a single by Matt Ackerman who was sacrificed over to second. A weak grounder was hit to Richardson in the next at-bat when he threw to third to try to get the lead runner, but the throw was just late. That would be the end of Richardson’s night as he was relieved by senior Nate Carter (Boca Raton, Fla.). Perez would be the first batter Carter faced, and a heads-up play by Vavra kept the game tied as he came home with the throw where he caught Ackerman getting greedy trying to break the tie. A hit batsman loaded the bases, and a 2-2 single to left by Kain scored what would turn out to be the only runs Lynn would need to take the series. The Mocs went down in order in the bottom of the seventh.
FSC will return to action this coming Tuesday, March 18 as they host Warner in a non-conference game at Henley field starting at 6 p.m.
