Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn softball team used the long ball to earn a 5-1 win over Saint Francis U. in game one of a Northeast Conference doubleheader on Saturday. The Red Flash, who gave up three home runs to the Blackbirds in the opening contest, returned the favor in the second game, connecting on a pair of homers in a 6-0 victory.
Sophomore Victoria Zamora cracked two solo home runs while classmate Angie Vazquez returned to the starting lineup after an injury and belted a mammoth two-run shot that went an estimated 260 feet.
In the first game, LIU had a prime chance to score in the bottom of the first as senior Whitney West reached on an infield single before a walk and hit by pitch loaded the bases with nobody out. SFU starter Alexis Bower was able to wiggle out of the jam without allowing a run, however, as the contest moved to the second.
The contest remained scoreless through the second and into the third, before a two-out rally by the Blackbirds gave them the lead. Zamora stepped to the plate and drilled a 2-1 offering over the right-centerfield wall to put LIU Brooklyn on top, 1-0. Senior Celinna Cosio and junior Kylie Mulholland each singled to put a pair on for Vazquez, who lined a single up the middle to bump the margin to 2-0.
A solo home run by Kassidy Troxell cut LIU's lead to 2-1 in the top of the fourth. The score remained the same until the fifth, when Zamora led off with another home run, this one to left field. A one-out double by Mulholland set the stage for Vazquez, who unloaded on a 3-1 pitch for a two-run home run to put the score at 5-1.
From there, sophomore Erynn Sobieski took care of the rest in picking up the complete-game win. Sobieski struck out eight Red Flash batters while allowing just one earned runs on four hits.
In the second contest, a three-run home run from SFU's Jordan Seneca opened the scoring in the top of the second. The Blackbirds tried to rally right away, loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom half. But Ketarah DeVries recorded a strikeout and two groundouts to end the threat.
Another round tripper by the Red Flash to lead off the third bumped the margin to 4-0, which proved to be more than enough for DeVries who was able to strand eight runners on by using eight strikeouts in a complete-game shutout. Saint Francis tacked on two more in the sixth to account for the final margin of victory.
LIU Brooklyn returns to NEC action on Saturday, April 9 at Bryant. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in Smithfield, R.I.