JUPITER, Fla. – Palm Beach Atlantic hosted Palm Beach county rival Lynn University in their season opener on Monday night, and the Fighting Knights prevailed over the Sailfish thanks to some late-inning long balls, downing PBA 9-5 from Roger Dean Stadium.

After falling behind 3-0 early and starting pitcher Alex Greener being chased from the game after two innings, reliever Ryan Cota shut down the Lynn offense and opened the door for PBA.

The Sailfish got on the board with an A.J. Steimel RBI-single in the second, then tacked on another run thanks to an RBI double from Joel Buchko in the third. The fifth inning gave PBA a lead, when two Lynn defensive breakdowns led to two unearned runs. Junior Brian Walker knocked in what would end up being the final run of the game for PBA with a single.

After Cota was chased from the game in the seventh inning the Lynn offense bust out their muscles, launching a two-run home run into right field to take a 6-5 lead in the eighth, and then adding insurance in the ninth with another two-run jack.

PBA’s offense was led by newcomer Chris Farrell, who went 2-for-4 with two singles and reached base two other times thanks to a walk and an error. Senior catcher Spencer Castro also had a 2-for-4 night at the plate and threw out two would-be base stealers.

Official statistics for tonight's game will be available on Tuesday.

Palm Beach Atlantic returns to Roger Dean Stadium on Friday night to take on Top-25 powerhouse Delta State. The opener of the three-game, three-day series will start at 7 PM.