BOCA RATON, FLA. --- The LIU Brooklyn softball team began its penultimate non-conference road trip Friday with a pair of games as part of the Florida Atlantic Parents' Weekend Tournament. The Blackbirds fell to Ball State (8-1) before rallying to defeat Florida A&M (4-2).
GAME 1: LIU 1, BALL STATE 8
After three scoreless innings, LIU put the first run on the board. Senior
Victoria Zamora led off the fourth inning with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Two batters later, Zamora reached third as senior
Nereyda Gutierrez grounded out to short and fellow senior
Angie Vazquez hit a double double the left field line that scored Zamora.
Ball State took control of the game in the bottom half of the fourth with four runs off two home runs and matched their output in the fifth with four runs with two outs.
Zamora ended the game 2-for-3 with a run scored while Vazquez logged the team's lone RBI as one of five players to go 1-for-3.
GAME 2: LIU 4, FAMU 2
The Blackbirds bounced back against the Rattlers to earn the first day split. Junior
Patricia Griffin's RBI single in the first inning gave LIU a 1-0 lead and Zamora added to it in the third with a sacrific fly that brought in Griffin to make the score 2-0.
FAMU tied up the game at 2-2 in the fifth inning, scoring on back-to-back at-bats before the Blackbirds put together the eventual game-winner. After freshman
Ryleigh Bermea grounded out to start the inning, Gutierrez and Vazquez reached base on a single and error, respectively. Freshman
Emily Collins entered the game to pinch-run for Gutierrez and advanced to third while Vazquez moved to second on a passed ball. Junior
Evie Claussell struck out in LIU's next at-bat, sending junior
Schae Dickson to the plate to fight off the Rattlers with two outs. Dickson responded, hitting a two-run double to right center to put LIU ahead for good.
Griffin was the only player in the game to record three hits, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Freshman
Kiana Cisneros was 2-for-3 with a walk, Zamora went 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Dickson was 1-for-3 with the two RBI.
NEXT UP
LIU will play a single game at FAU on Saturday, March 10, facing UTEP at 8:15 p.m.