LOWELL, Mass. – The LIU Brooklyn baseball team dropped its final two games of the regular season Friday afternoon at LeLacheur Park, as the Blackbirds saw two furious comebacks fall short against UMass Lowell. LIU lost the first game, 6-4, and the second, 10-8, to finish the season at 16-35 overall.

Game One
In the first game of the day, the Blackbirds threatened early. After junior Brian Lamboy led off with a double and freshman Dom Paiotti was walked, sophomore Tommy Jakubowski was also walked to load the bases with no outs. But the River Hawks' starter ­Kevin Veilleux kept his cool, striking out the next two Blackbirds, and getting a third to fly out and end the inning. In the bottom of the frame, a two-run dinger put UMass Lowell on the board, and they would stay up, 2-0, until the top of the third.

In that inning, Jakubowski's lead-off double set the table for sophomore Mark Hernandez, who had an RBI groundout to get the Blackbirds on the board. Junior Vincent Tranchina tied up the score when he reached on an error to score freshman Andrew Turner, and the score was 2-2.

UML took the lead once more in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single, and the home team would lead from then on. The River Hawks added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, on three hits and two LIU errors, going up, 6-2.

The Blackbirds would rally late, scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning. Back-to-back singles from Jakubowski and senior Melvin Rios put two runners on, and Hernandez used a long double down the right field line to bring one home. Sophomore Harrison Preschel had an RBI groundout to score the second, and LIU had closed the gap to 6-4. But in the end, it would not be enough, as the River Hawks took the game one win.

Brian Drapeau (1-7) had the loss on the mound, giving up four earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched. The senior had six strikeouts on the day. Senior Dustin Carlson pitched 1.0 innings, striking out two, while sophomore Nick Freijomil finished the game for the Blackbirds, pitching 0.2 innings, with a strikeout and no hits. Veilleux (5-5) had the win for UMass Lowell, giving up just one earned run in 4.0 innings pitched, while Tim Fallon earned the save, giving up two runs in the final 3.0 innings.

Game Two
In the second game of the day, the Blackbirds went up early, but couldn't maintain the lead over UMass Lowell. In the top of the first, LIU had three straight hits to start off. Freshman Dom Paiotti led off with a single, followed by one from Lamboy. Jakubowski's single to right field scored Paiotti, and he stole second to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Senior Bobby Webb had a sacrifice fly to bring Lamboy home, and Hernandez had his third RBI of the day on a groundout, giving LIU the lead, 3-0.

Four hits in the bottom of the frame scored one for the home team, and the River Hawks added another in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to 3-2. Webb would give the Blackbirds some breathing room with a two RBI single in the top of the third inning, but it didn't last long. The home team would score three runs in the bottom of the frame to tie the game up, 5-5.

LIU briefly retook the lead on an RBI single by Paiotti in the top of the fourth, but UML would score three runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good, 8-6. Though LIU would manage to score again in the sixth and seventh innings, the River Hawks scored two more runs to take the game by a final score of 10-8.

Bobby Maxwell (5-3) had the loss on the mound for the Blackbirds, pitching 3.1 innings. Sophomore Evan Flood pitched 2.0 hitless innings, giving up one run, while senior Rafael Guerrero closed the game for LIU, pitching 0.2 innings of perfect relief.