FORT MYERS, Fla. - Sophomore Alyssa Lanktree-Dotson came out of the bullpen and worked five impressive innings, while classmate Kayla Gloady drove home the go-ahead run as part of a four-run 10th inning that helped the LIU Brooklyn softball team earn a thrilling 10-7 victory over Boston University on the second day of the FGCU Spring Break Classic.

In the second game of the day, the Blackbirds had their opportunities at the plate but stranded 12 runners on base and went just 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position in a 6-1 loss to Pitt. 

Graduate student Lauren Morizi went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in, including a key two-run single in the 10th that broke the game open. Freshman Angie Vazquez also had two hits for the Blackbirds, who will finish out round-robin play at the event against Pittsburgh later on Saturday.

LIU got on the board in the top of the first as junior Whitney West reached on an error to lead off. West then stole second base, advanced to third on two consecutive hit by pitches, and scored on a wild pitch to give the Blackbirds a 1-0 lead.

Sophomore starting pitcher Shelley Procter kept the Terriers off the board in the bottom half by stranding two runners, then struck out a pair of batters in the bottom of the second to bring LIU Brooklyn to bat in the third.

On Friday, the Blackbirds broke out with six runs against Quinnipiac in the third inning and again used an offensive explosion in the third against BU. Morizi and Vazquez recorded back-to-back base hits, and a walk to junior Celinna Cosio two batters later loaded the bases with two outs.

Senior Nicole Archer stepped to the plate and drove in two runs a single to put the score at 3-0. Junior Alyssa Gospodarek followed with a bases-clearing triple that pushed the LIU Brooklyn lead to 5-0 and chased Boston U. starting pitcher Lauren Hynes.

The Terriers came back to score two runs in the bottom of the third, then registered two more in the fourth to trim LIU's lead to 5-4. An RBI single by BU's Kendra Meadows in the fifth erased the entire LIU Brooklyn lead and pulled the Terriers even at 5-5.

A one-out double by senior Madison Green in the sixth put the potential go-ahead run in scoring position with the top of the LIU order coming to bat. But the Blackbirds were unable to push across the go-ahead run, as relief pitcher Makinna Akers worked out of the jam.

Similarly, Boston U. had runners in scoring position in both the sixth and the seventh innings but Lanktree-Dotson avoided allowing a run, with a ground ball to second base ending the seventh to force extra innings.

With a runner placed on second base in each extra inning due to international tiebreaker rules, both teams failed to score in the eighth inning. In the ninth, Morizi drove home Green on a sacrifice fly to give the Blackbirds a brief 6-5 advantage, before an RBI double from Hynes re-tied the game and forced another extra frame.

In the 10th, Archer fouled off a number of pitches before working a leadoff walk to put two runners on with nobody out. A sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base for Gloady, who singled on an 0-2 pitch to score Archer and give the Blackbirds a 7-6 lead. After Green reached on a fielder's choice bunt to load the bases, West beat out an infield single to push the score to 8-6 and Morizi followed suit with a two-run single as LIU moved in front, 10-6.

Boston University was able to plate a run in the bottom of the 10th, but Lanktree-Dotson used a strikeout and a flyout to end the game and pick up her second win of the year.

In the second game of the day, Pittsburgh scored single runs in the first, second, third, and fourth to build a lead. The Blackbirds rallied in the third inning, loading the bases with nobody out as West and Morizi each singled. Zamora came to the plate and drove in West with a base hit to left field, but a double play and fly out closed the frame and limited LIU to just one run.

With the score 4-1 in the sixth, a two-run home run by Giorgiana Zeremenko bumped the Panthers in front by five. In the seventh, LIU Brooklyn made one last run as Vazquez singled and Zamora doubled to put second and third with nobody out. Pitt relief pitcher Jenna Modic worked out of trouble, however, and preserved the victory for the Panthers, who improved to 18-2 with the win.