BROOKLYN, N.Y. - LIU Brooklyn head softball coach Roy Kortmann won the 600th game of his career as the Blackbirds extended their win streak to seven with a doubleheader sweep of Mount St. Mary's on Saturday. LIU earned a 5-1 victory in the first contest of the day, then exploded for 11 runs in an 11-2, six-inning win that improved its record to 20-24 overall and 8-2 in Northeast Conference play.

Kortmann, who is in his 21st season at the helm of LIU Brooklyn's softball program, has led the Blackbirds to 13 NEC titles over his tenure, the most of any team in any sport in NEC history. Included in that run are seven 30-win seasons including a school record 39 victories in 2010 that culminated in the program's first NCAA Regional Final appearance. Kortmann is the second NEC head softball coach to reach the 600-win mark, joining current Robert Morris head coach Dr. Craig Coleman who has accumulated 645 wins in 26 seasons with the Colonials.

Game One Recap
The Blackbirds wasted no time in getting started in the first inning, as senior Whitney West laced a double to the wall in left field to lead off. Classmate Ariana Lopez followed with a sharp single through the left side to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Two batters later, senior Celinna Cosio skied a sacrifice fly into center that scored West and put LIU Brookly on top, 1-0.

Sophomore Erynn Sobieski worked around a single in the first and another in the second, before the LIU offense went back to work in the top of the third. Lopez started things off with a one-out double, before sophomore Victoria Zamora lined a double over the head of the centerfielder. With two on and one out, Cosio connected on a opposite-field home run over the right-field fence that bumped LIU's cushion to 4-0.

From there, Sobieski once again worked around a single in the fourth before running into trouble in the fifth. NEC home run leader Rachel Heinze singled to begin the inning, and two batters later another base hit put two on with one out for Rachel Gavigan, who drilled a run-scoring double to the wall in right center that put the score at 4-1. Sobieski was able to limit the damage to just one, however, as back-to-back ground balls to the right side ended the inning.

LIU regained a four-run lead in the top of the fifth, as Lopez golfed a solo home run over the left-field wall. The Blackbirds threatened for more, as Zamora and Cosio recorded back-to-back singles with nobody out. A pitching change by the Mountaineers, however, kept the margin at 5-1 as Katie Olson recorded three straight outs.

In the bottom of the sixth, Mount attempted a rally as a single and a walk put two on with nobody out. Three straight ground ball outs induced by Sobieski ended the threat, however, and the sophomore righthander set the Mountaineers down in order in the seventh to close out her 13th win of the year.

Game Two Recap
In the second game of the day, West again ignited an early rally to give the Blackbirds the lead in the first inning. On a 1-1 pitch from Olson, who started the contest for Mount, West tripled down the left-field line to put a runner just 60 feet from home plate with nobody out. It was the league-leading fifth triple of the season for West, who is now tied for second in LIU history in the category just three behind Tracy Schneider (1989-93).

After a walk from Lopez, Zamora came through with a run-scoring single to give LIU a 1-0 lead. An error on the Mount allowed another run to score for the Blackbirds and, with the bases loaded and just one out, junior Kayla Gloady worked a great at-bat before splitting the gap in left-centerfield for a two-run double. With two runners in scoring position, senior Ashley Sandoval-Colon pulled an inside pitch through the right side to plate two more and extend the advantage to 6-0 in the top of the first.

Freshman Tallie Woodson earned the start in the circle for the Blackbirds, and worked around an error in the first to keep the Mountaineers off the board. In the top of the second, junior Kylie Mulholland picked up an RBI on a double down the right-field line to increase the margin to 7-0.

Woodson worked into and out of trouble in the third, as she was faced with a second-and-third, one-out situation and was able to wiggle out of it without allowing a run. Faced with another challenge in the fourth with runners on first and second and nobody out, the rookie lefthander once again kept the Mountaineers from breaking through and kept her shutout intact.

The top of the sixth inning saw the Blackbirds break through with a four spot, with some key help from the freshman class. A double from Cosio and a single from Mulholland each drove home a run to push LIU Brooklyn in front, 9-0, before freshman Evie Claussell lined a double off the wall in center to bump the margin to double figures at 10-0. Classmate Schae Dickson followed with a line drive off the glove of the first baseman that plated yet another run and gave the Blackbirds an 11-0 advantage.

Mount St. Mary's did score two runs in the bottom of the sixth and had runners on first and third with one out. But Sobieski entered and shut the door, retiring the next two batters in order to preserve LIU's seventh straight win.

LIU Brooklyn continues NEC play on Sunday, April 24 at Central Connecticut. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.