AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Lakeland University baseball team scored 11 runs over the final three innings, roaring back from a 7-1 deficit to defeat the University of Maine-Farmington 14-9 in the second game of a doubleheader between the teams Wednesday at the Lake Myrtle Complex.

The Muskies rebounded from a narrow 8-7 loss to the Beavers in the opening game to finish with a split of the teams' twinbill. Lakeland is now 4-4 through eight of its 12 games at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational, with two more games remaining on both Thursday and Friday.

The Muskies answered a seven-run inning for Maine-Farmington in the second inning of the second game with their own seven spot in the fifth. A total of 13 batters went to the plate in the fifth, and Lakeland scored seven times despite hitting just three balls out of the infield.

Kellen Hodges (Sr.-Littleton, Colo.) drove in a run by being hit by a pitch, and Chris Day (So.-Victorville, Calif.) walked to send in another run. Aiden Swann (Fr.-Aurora, Ill.) scored on a wild pitch, Nathan Walter (Fr.-Watertown, Wis.) drove in a run with an infield single, and Day scored on an error. Tucker Gegenfurtner (Fr.-Onalaska, Wis.) hit a sacrifice fly to make it 7-7, and Landon Mani (Fr.-Germantown, Wis.) put the Muskies ahead 8-7 with an RBI single to score Walter.

The Beavers (4-7 overall) came back to tie with a run in the bottom of the fifth, but Lakeland retook the lead with two in the sixth as Zak Keegan (Jr.-Frankfort, Ill.) doubled to drive in OakLee Spens (Sr.-South Weber, Utah) and Gegenfurtner hit another sac fly to make it 10-8. Maine-Farmington scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, but the Muskies weren't done, scoring four more in the seventh to pull away. Day delivered the big blow with a two-run single, and a groundout by Keegan ended scoring two more after Hodges came in on the hit and then Day scored on an error.

Aiden Blaszkowski (Fr.-Fort Campbell, Ky.) and Armaan Sharma (So.-Pinole, Calif.) were the pitching heroes of the game, steadying the ship after a rocky start. Blaszkowski allowed one run over three innings of relief for his first collegiate win, and Sharma pitched the final two innings and earned his first collegiate save.

Lakeland gained the split after Maine-Farmington won a hard-fought first game, when the Beavers scored twice in the top of the seventh to break a 6-6 tie, and the Muskies' comeback attempt was halted after getting one run back in the bottom of the final inning.

M. Marquis led off the top of the seventh with a single, and Maine-Farmington loaded the bases with nobody out before S. Parsell hit a sacrifice fly to put the Beavers ahead. J. Bloch later scored with two outs after an errant throw on an attempted caught stealing down at second, and that run proved huge when Lakeland scored one in the bottom of the seventh. Dane Nickolai (Fr.-Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) led off by reaching on an error, stole second and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Day, but the Muskies could get no further.

The Beavers jumped to an early 5-0 lead in the first game that included a four-run third, but the Muskies bounced back to tie it at 6-6 after scoring twice each in the third, fourth and sixth innings. Spens and Keegan both drove in runs in the third, Hodges doubled to drive in a run in the fourth and Walter walked with the bases loaded in the fourth to cut UMF's lead to 5-4. Gegenfurtner also grounded out to score a run in the sixth, and Lakeland tied it with two outs on a single up the middle by Dylan Costello (So.-New Berlin, Wis.).

Spens went 3-for-4 in the first game and Costello finished with three hits on the day and two RBIs. Hodges also added two hits, two RBIs and four runs scored. Eli Watkins (Fr.-Herrin, Ill.) took the loss in the opener, going six-plus innings and allowing nine hits and seven runs (three earned).

Lakeland is in action again tomorrow with two games, first facing Mount St. Mary (N.Y.) College at 11:45 a.m. Central, 12:45 p.m. Eastern. The Muskies then take on North Park (Ill.) University at 3 p.m. Central, 4 p.m. Eastern.