Lynn Baseball Trumps Sailfish in Stadium Opener

It was supposed to be a landmark day for Palm Beach Atlantic University following the opening of its new baseball stadium but Lynn University’s 19th-ranked baseball team played the spoiler with a 4-0 victory on Tuesday night.  Max Watt and Bill Mendek combined for 15 strikeouts and Thomas Kain drove in two runs to help the Fighting Knights improve to 2-0 overall.

Watt was impressive in his first career start for the Blue & White, tossing four scoreless innings while fanning seven batters with one walk and three hits allowed.  He allowed only one Sailfish (0-1) to reach third base and ended his night with an emphatic exclamation mark by striking out two consecutive batters with runners on first and second.

His opponent on the mound was just as impressive, allowing only one run in 6.1 innings of work.  Michael Stemle served as the catalyst for the offense with a double down the right field line in the third inning.  He was able to trot home from third base after Kain singled into shallow left field to make it a 1-0 ballgame.

An All-American and national leader in earned run average from a year ago, Mendek stepped on the bump in the fifth and proved he could be in line for both accolades again this season.  After a dropped pop fly led to a leadoff double, Mendek would set down two of the next three batters with K’s to maintain Lynn’s advantage.

Stemle’s speed proved to be a game changer late in the contest.  The senior centerfielder swiped two bases in the seventh, giving him four in the game, and then crossed home plate when Kain smacked a single through the left side of the infield.  Kyle Schindler‘s aggressiveness on the base path forced PBA into a poor throw at third and the junior second baseman made it 3-0.

Matt Tietz added to the Fighting Knights’ cushion a batter later with a scorching single up the middle to give Lynn a 4-0 lead.

Mendek had little trouble after his initial encounter with the Sailfish.  He would strike out at least one batter in each of his five innings and set down all three batters via strikeout in the 8th frame.

Stemle finished 2-for-5 with a pair of runs and Tietz 2-for-4 and a RBI.