PHILADELPHIA - The LIU Brooklyn softball team suffered a 5-1 loss to Saint Joseph's in non-conference action on Wednesday afternoon. The Hawks jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the first inning and never trailed, dropping the Blackbirds to 13-24 on the season.

After a scoreless top half of the first, St. Joe's used a bloop double by Kaylyn Zierke to push the first run of the game home. With two outs and runners on second and third, Raelynn Genovese came through with a two-run single to put the home team in front, 3-0.

The Blackbirds got a run back in the top of the fourth as sophomore Victoria Zamora cracked a line-drive home run over the left-field wall to put the score at 3-1. In the same inning, freshman Samantha Offenback drove a single right back up the middle for the first hit of her collegiate career, but LIU could get no closer as the contest moved to the bottom of the fourth.

After allowing those three runs to score in the first, LIU Brooklyn's pitching duo of Erynn Sobieski and Tallie Woodson held the Hawks scoreless over the next four innings. In the bottom of the sixth, however, a pair of passed balls and an error led to two insurance runs to up the margin to 5-1. The Blackbirds could not get their offense going in the seventh as Anna Lauterbach worked a scoreless seventh en route to the save.

LIU Brooklyn returns to Northeast Conference action on Saturday, April 16 with a doubleheader against Robert Morris. The afternoon will also mark Alumni Day, as the program welcomes back a number of former players to LIU Field. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.