SAINT LEO, Fla. -- Saint Leo baseball defeated Lynn University, 9-7, in game two to take a split out of the teams' Good Friday doubleheader at Thomas B. Southard Stadium.

The Lions dropped game one of the twinbill to the Fighting Knights, 11-7.

The 12th-ranked Lions move to 28-8 on the season with a 9-6 Sunshine State Conference record, while the Knights improve to 29-6 overall, 10-5 in the SSC.

The game two victory saw two ties and three lead changes before ultimately ending in Saint Leo's favor.

Lynn jumped out to an early lead by plating two in the top of the first, but Saint Leo would answer in the bottom frame with a run of their own. In the bottom of the second, the Green and Gold tied the score at 2-2 on centerfielder Cole Stancil's solo home run over the left field fence.

In the top of the third, Kyle Carter added a solo home run to give Lynn a 3-2 lead. The Knights tallied four more runs over the next two innings to push their lead to 7-2 midway through the sixth.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Saint Leo bats awoke with three straight singles by Troy Sieber, Jordan Taylor, and Taylor Perez. Perez's hit allowed Taylor and Sieber to score, and the next batter, freshman Lane Stancil, hit a sacrifice fly to deep center to score Perez and cap a three-run frame for the Lions. That cut the Fighting Knights' lead to 7-5

The Green and Gold tied things up in the bottom of the seventh when an error by Lynn's pitcher allowed Dylan Harris to score from third. Later in the frame, Jordan Taylor drew a walk and was eventually singled home by freshman Lane Stancil, giving Saint Leo an 8-7 lead.

Sieber's sac fly in the bottom of the eighth scored Dale Irving, giving the Lions an insurance run for closer Tyrone Miller. Miller finished the game to earn his fifth save of the season, while reliever Brandon Mumaw collected the win. Mumaw came on in the third inning and scattered five hits with five strikeouts while allowing three earned runs, improving his record to 4-0 on the season.

Lynn reliever Max Watt was tagged with the loss for the Knights, after yielding four runs, one earned, on three hits and four walks over one-and-a-third innings of work.

Harris led the Lions at the plate with a 3-for-5 effort.

In Friday's first game, Lynn plated five early runs in the top of the first on John Borup, Alex DeBellis, and Eric Schindler RBI hits.

The Lions only trailed 5-2 after the bottom of the first thanks to Taylor's two RBI single that scored sophomores Alex Mata and Harris.

The Knights picked up another run in the third to push the lead to 6-2, but would be answered in the bottom of the fourth by Saint Leo with two runs of their own, cutting Lynn's lead to 6-4.

Lynn added runs in the sixth, seventh, and ninth innings. Saint Leo posted three more runs including Sieber's solo home run in the ninth, his tenth long ball of the season.  

Saint Leo starter Liam O'Sullivan struck out five in the loss, allowing eight hits and six runs over three-and-two-third innings. Relievers Miller, Dan Twitty, and Brett Nizamoff combined to finish out the game for the Lions.

Bill Mendek picked up the win for the Knights in relief, despite allowing three earned runs on five hits over four-and-two-thirds innings on the mound, and improved to 3-1 on the season. Starter Travis Connelly was chased in the fifth innings, after yielding four runs on six hits and three walks.

Saint Leo will have a few days off before taking on the Florida Southern College Mocs in another tough SSC conference matchup beginning Friday, April 10, at 6:00 p.m. and concluding Saturday, April 11, with a doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m.

For more information on the Saint Leo baseball program, visit SaintLeoLions.com.  Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.