CLEARWATER, Fla. – The LIU Brooklyn softball team had two extra inning wins Saturday at the USF Under Armor Showcase, beating Elon, 5-4 in eight innings, before taking a win from Lehigh, 8-7 in nine innings. With the sweep of the day, LIU moves to 10-17 on the season, prior to their final day of play in the Sunshine State.
 
LIU 5, Elon 4 (8 innings)
 In the first game of the day, the Blackbirds would get on the board first, before seeing Elon rally back and take the lead. LIU would score two runs in the top of the seventh to tie it up and force extra innings, before using a big hit in the top of the eighth to take the 5-4 win.
 
LIU got on the board first, scoring in the top of the first inning. Freshman Kiana Cisneros had a one-out walk, and would advance on a passed ball. With two outs, senior Victoria Zamora brought her home with a single to right center field, and the Blackbirds led, 1-0. In the top of the second, LIU added another run to take a 2-0 lead. Freshman Ryleigh Bermea led off with a walk, and was advanced by a sac bunt from classmate Victoria Lowe. Alina Castillo's ground out put her on third, and Bermea would score on the next at bat on an Elon throwing error.
 
The Phoenix would start to chip away at LIU's lead in the bottom of the fourth, scoring a run on an RBI double, but the bottom of the fifth is where Elon did the most damage. With two outs, the Phoenix would score a run on a single to left center, and then added two unearned runs to the tally with an error and a double that brought two runs home. At the end of the frame, Elon led, 4-2.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, freshman Victoria Lowe moved from first to pitching, and she was able to shut down any momentum that Elon had, pitching three hitless innings of relief. Lowe gave her team a chance to score, and that they did, in the top of the seventh. Castillo would walk to lead off, and two outs later, Cisneros singled up the middle to put two runners on. Junior Patricia Griffin would tie the game up when she brought both Blackbirds home on a double to right field, 4-4.
 
Lowe would keep LIU in the game, despite a runner in scoring position in the seventh, striking out the final batter to force the two teams into extra innings. But LIU didn't need more than one. With Zamora starting the inning on second, Bermea had a single to put two runners on. And this time, it was Castillo who would bring the run home with two outs; the freshman had a double to center field that would score Zamora and put LIU on top, 5-4.

In the bottom of the eighth, Elon had a runner placed on second as well, but Lowe and LIU's defense were able to escape the threat. A sacrifice bunt got one out, and after one batter was hit by a pitch, the Blackbirds got the next batter to line out into a double play. First baseman Nereyda Gutierrez and catcher Zamora combined to get the outs at first and home plate, ending the inning and the game with LIU on top, 5-4.

Erynn Sobieski had the start for LIU, pitching 5.0 innings. Freshman Victoria Lowe (3-4) earned the win, pitching 3.0 hitless innings to clinch the victory.
 
LIU 8, Lehigh 7 (9 innings)
The second game of the day against the Mountain Hawks was a back and forth affair throughout. Lehigh would get on the board first, scoring a run in the top of the second on an error, but LIU would answer in the bottom of the frame, on an RBI single from junior Schae Dickson to tie it up, 1-1. The Mountain Hawks went back on top scoring a run in the top of the third, but again, LIU would answer in the bottom of the inning.
 
After Cisneros led off with a single, four straight Blackbirds were walked, bringing in two runs and putting LIU on top, 3-2. With two outs on the board, junior Evie Claussell was also walked to score another run, and LIU ended the inning up, 4-2. The Blackbirds would add one more in the bottom of the fourth on a sac fly from Gutierrez, and led, 5-2 heading into the fifth inning.
 
Lehigh would add an unearned run in the top of the fifth, and tied the game up, 5-5, in the top of the sixth. Neither team would score from there, and after seven, the teams went to extra innings. Lehigh would score in the top of the eighth to go up, 6-5, but Dickson had an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to tie it back up, 6-6.
 
The two teams continued to battle from there. Lehigh would score on an RBI single in the top of the ninth, but this time, when LIU answered, they answered with two runs. Griffin was placed on second, and Gutierrez had a single and advanced to second on an error, scoring Griffin and tying the game up once more, 7-7. After freshman Emily Collins came in to pinch run, Bermea brought her home with a double to center field, giving the Blackbirds the win on a walk off in the bottom of the ninth inning, 8-7.
 
Sophomore Haley Irvis had the start, pitching 5.0 innings, while Sobieski (5-7) earned the win, holding Lehigh to just one hit in 3.1 innings of relief.
 
Up next, the Blackbirds wrap up play in Florida by taking on Chattanooga, Sunday, March 18 at 9 am, before returning to the northeast to start Northeast Conference action, Friday, March 30 at Wagner.