MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - The LIU Brooklyn softball team staved off elimination and advanced to its fourth straight Northeast Conference Tournament championship day with a 12-1, five-inning win over top-seeded Robert Morris on Friday afternoon. The Blackbirds will take on No. 2 Central Connecticut, who defeated LIU 6-2 earlier in the day, at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, and will need to win twice against the Blue Devils in order to earn their 14th NEC title.

GAME TWO - ROBERT MORRIS
In an elimination game between two longtime NEC rivals, each squad put its leadoff runner on base in the first inning but was unable to score. The second inning, however, proved to be the turning point as the Blackbirds broke out in a big way.

Junior Celinna Cosio drove a 2-2 pitch from 2015 NEC Pitcher of the Year Nicole Sleith well over the left-field wall for a leadoff home run that gave the Blackbirds a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Kylie Mulholland followed with a base hit that tipped of the glove of Jordan Gurganus at first base.

The following batter, junior Ariana Lopez, lined a shot over the head of Tess Apke in right field to put runners on second and third with nobody out. A hit by pitch to freshman Angie Vazquez loaded the bases, but Sleith was able to induce an infield fly for the first out of the inning.

Junior Whitney West, who led off the game with a walk, worked another base on balls to force home a run before graduate student Lauren Morizi lined a single to center that plated another run and put the LIU Brooklyn lead at 3-0.

NEC Rookie of the Year Victoria Zamora blooped an RBI single into right field to drive in another run and force Robert Morris to pull Sleith from the game after just 1.1 innings. Haileigh Stocks entered the circle and was rudely greeted by her counterpart Nicole Archer, who missed a grand slam by a couple of inches as her shot to right-centerfield hit the top of the wall twice before falling in for a two-run double. With the score 6-0, Mulholland registered her second hit of the inning with a two-run single to left field that upped the advantage to 8-0.

Archer worked a perfect top of the third before the Blackbirds added to their lead in the bottom of the inning. Two walks and two hit batsmen led to another run, and a two-out error by the Colonials allowed two more runs to score and put the margin at 11-0.

From there, Archer worked around a one-out single in the fourth and received one more insurance run in the same inning before allowing her first run in the fifth on a groundout. But the single tally was too little, too late as the Blackbirds earned a spot into championship day.

GAME ONE - CENTRAL CONNECTICUT
CCSU pitcher Laura Messina held the Blackbirds to just one hit over the first six innings of play to help the Blue Devils to a 6-2 win in a winner's bracket contest on Friday morning. The Blackbirds had a number of runners on base throughout the game but were unable to come through with the big hit as they dropped into the loser's bracket.

Junior Whitney West led off the game with a hard-hit grounder up the middle for what proved to be LIU's only hit through the first six frames. A catcher's interference call gave LIU Brooklyn a pair of runners on base with nobody out, but Messina used a ground-ball double play to help her get out of trouble and keep the Blackbirds off the board.

Central Connecticut picked up a run in the bottom of the first without hitting a ball out of the infield, as a walk and two infield hits loaded the bases with nobody out. A groundout with one away drove home Brittany Camara, before graduate student Lauren Morizi was able to grab a hard-hit line drive to end the inning.

The score remained the same until the bottom of the third, when Eileen Purcell and Tori Constantin each drove home runs with base hits. The damage was limited by a great defensive play from sophomore Kylie Mulholland, who gunned down Purcell at home plate for the second out of the inning.

LIU Brooklyn threatened to cut into the CCSU advantage in the fourth, when Morizi walked and an error allowed freshman Victoria Zamora to reach to put a pair on with nobody out. Senior Nicole Archer made a bid for a base hit but a nice running catch by centerfielder Kat Malcolm recorded the first out and kept both runners put. Mulholland was hit by a pitch two batters later to load the bases, but a soft liner off the bat of junior Ariana Lopez was caught by Purcell at short to end the threat.

Consecutive doubles from Ashley Black and Malcolm accounted for three more runs in the bottom of the fourth and pushed CCSU's cushion to 6-0, forcing the Blackbirds to make a pitching change. Sophomore Shelley Procter entered and was effective in relief, holding the Blue Devils to just one hit over her 2.2 innings of work.

The offense once again had an opportunity to get on the board in the sixth as Morizi worked her second walk of the game and Zamora was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Mulholland made a bid for a three-run home run that would have halved LIU's deficit, but Malcolm retreated and reached over the fence to record the inning-ending out and keep the shutout intact.

LIU's last ditch opportunity in the seventh proved somewhat fruitful, as freshman Angie Vazquez lined a single up the middle with one out before senior Madison Green put the Blackbirds on the board with a two-run home run to left. An infield single by West continued the rally for LIU, but a line drive off the bat of Morizi was caught by left fielder Evie Rentzel who was able to double off West at first to end the game.