AUBURNDALE, Fla. – Zak Keegan (Sr.-Frankfort, Ill.) and Chris Day (Jr.-Victorville, Calif.) both had big hits as part of a seven-run eighth inning as the Lakeland University baseball team rallied late in a big way to defeat Suffolk (Mass.) University 7-4 Friday morning at the RussMatt Invitational at the Lake Myrtle Complex.

The Muskies clinched a winning record on their spring break trip with the win over Suffolk before falling to Albertus Magnus (Conn.) College 12-10 in their second game Friday and their final of 10 games on spring break in Florida. Lakeland still finished with a 6-4 record in Florida, is 6-6 overall on the season and already is three-quarters of the way to its win total for all of last season.

The Muskies trailed 4-0 going into the eighth inning after Suffolk (4-9 overall) pitcher T.J. Dimitriou pitched seven shutout innings, scattering seven hits and striking out six through seven innings. Reliever Nolan Drew came on for the Rams, and Keegan greeted him with a solo home run to get Lakeland on the board.

Tucker Gegenfurtner (So.-Onalaska, Wis.) followed with a single, was sacrificed to second and stole third, and Dylan Costello (Jr.-New Berlin, Wis.) singled to drive him in. Landen Sobieski (Sr.-Berlin, Wis.) followed with an RBI triple to chase Drew from the game, and Caleb Sumsion (Jr.-Dayton, Nev.) reached on a fielder's choice against new pitcher Cam Martin.

Day then delivered the go-ahead hit, a two-run single to give the Muskies a 5-4 lead. OakLee Spens (Sr.-South Weber, Utah) later doubled to score Logan South (Fr.-Oswego, Ill.) and Keegan capped the rally with his second hit of the inning and fourth of the game, an RBI single to make it 7-4.

Eli Watkins (So.-Herrin, Ill.) held down Suffolk over the final two innings to earn his second win of the trip, allowing two hits and a run over three innings. Gegenfurtner pitched six innings and allowed seven hits and three runs with a strikeout and also added three hits at the plate. Costello and Day also had two hits each as part of a 15-hit attack.

Lakeland also had 15 hits in its second game and also mounted a late rally, but it would not be enough after falling in a big hole against Albertus Magnus (2-5 overall).

The Falcons took a 5-0 lead after two innings and later scored five times in the sixth to build a 12-4 margin. The Muskies scored a run in the seventh on a solo homer by Gegenfurtner, his second home run of the trip, and then scored five times in the eighth to get close.

South reached on an error and Spens hit a two-run homer, his first career home run as a Muskie. Landon Mani (So.-Germantown, Wis.) later singled in a run, Sobieski scored on a wild pitch and South walked with the bases loaded to make it 12-10. Lakeland would get no closer, though, despite more opportunities. After South's walk, the Muskies stranded the bases loaded in the eight, and then loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before a game-ending double play.

Spens went 4-for-6 in the second game with four RBIs and three runs scored. Mani also added three hits and Gegenfurtner, Sobieski and Sean Gregorius (Fr.-Germantown, Wis.) all had two hits each. Thor Dunham (Jr.-Palisade, Minn.) took the loss, allowing five runs in 1 1/3 innings, while Ian Scherbring (Jr.-Sioux Falls, S.D.) had the most effective pitching outing for Lakeland, throwing the final two innings and allowing no hits with a strikeout and two walks.

The Muskies next are scheduled to face Carthage College this coming Wednesday for a single nine-inning game starting at 1 p.m. in Kenosha.