LIU vs. Robert Morris Highlights

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn softball team picked up two huge Northeast Conference wins at home on a sunny Saturday afternoon on LIU Field, beating Robert Morris twice to improve to 4-3 in NEC action and 15-20 overall. The Blackbirds won game one in five innings on a walk-off home run from freshman Ryleigh Bermea, 12-3, and took the second game of the day in seven innings, 10-3.
 
GAME ONE – LIU 12, RMU 3
The visiting team would score first in the series opener, as a single leadoff home run gave the Colonials the 1-0 advantage in the top of the third inning. Then, with two outs and the bases loaded, a single to left field would bring two more RMU runners home, making it 3-0.
 
LIU started chipping away at the lead in the bottom of the third. After freshman Kiana Cisneros and junior Patricia Griffin walked, senior Nereyda Gutierrez singled to load the bases. Freshman Ryleigh Bermea came to the plate, and hit a single to center field on the first pitch she saw, bringing one run in. Another LIU run would go on the board when junior Evie Claussell was walked, cutting the lead to 3-2.
 
The Blackbirds would take the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring five runs on five hits and an error. After sophomore Katie Hinkle led off with a single, Cisneros reached on a fielder's choice, and Hinkle made it to second safely, with help from a fielding error by RMU's shortstop. Junior Schae Dickson came up next, and had a hard hit single that would score the tying run. And Bermea continued to do damage. With a 3-1 count, the freshman hit a long double to left field that would score two runners, giving LIU the 5-3 lead. Another two runs would score before the inning was over, on an RBI single by senior Angie Vasquez, and a sacrifice fly by Claussell that made it 7-3 Blackbirds.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, LIU would score another five runs to mercy-rule the Colonials. Two walks and a bunt single from Hinkle loaded the bases to start the inning, and Griffin added two more runs to the total with her double to left field, 9-3. With two outs and two runners on, Bermea came to the plate, and hit a long ball over the left field fence, putting the Blackbirds up, 12-3, and ending the game in walk-off fashion.
 
Sophomore Haley Irvis had the win on the mound for LIU, pitching 5.0 innings, giving up just six hits to RMU. Bermea finished game one going 3-for-4 at the plate with six RBI and two runs scored. Griffin and Hinkle also had multiple hits for LIU, as Griffin went 2-for-3 with two RBI and three runs scored, while Hinkle was 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
 
GAME TWO – LIU 10, RMU 3
In the second contest of the day, LIU led throughout, despite a Colonial comeback partway through the game. The Blackbirds rode the momentum from their game one win, starting the scoring early. A fielder's choice and two singles would load the bases in the bottom of the first, and this time, it was Gutierrez who would clear them. The senior hit a bomb to right center field that would put her on second, and bring all three runners home, putting LIU on top early. After a ground out that advanced the runner to third, Vasquez would bring Gutierrez home with her RBI single to center field, and the Blackbirds had a 4-0 lead at the end of the first.
 
RMU would find their offensive firepower in the top of the second, cutting LIU's lead down to just one run. After a leadoff walk, RMU would hit a home run to left center field, clearing the bases to make it 4-2. A single would put another runner on, and one out later, a double to left center field would bring the run home. Despite walking the next batter, senior Erynn Sobieski would get out of the jam, forcing the next Colonial batter to strike out in three pitches, ending the inning with LIU still on top, 4-3.
 
The Blackbirds added insurance runs in the bottom of the third frame, when Clausell's single to right field scoured two runners, and another two runs would score on freshman Alina Castillo's single through the right side, and LIU led, 8-3. RMU would get two runners in scoring position in the top of the fourth inning, but again, Sobieski was strong in the face of pressure, getting the last RMU batter to strike out swinging with a full count, getting the Blackbirds out of the inning.
 
LIU added two more runs before the game was over; Dickson had an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, and senior Victoria Zamora had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth that made it 10-3 LIU. And the Blackbirds ended the game in spectacular fashion, with a big defensive play to clinch the win. After RMU had a leadoff single and an out, the next batter hit a blooper into center field. Bermea made the catch, and catching the base runner off guard, threw to first to catch her out, executing a double play that would end the inning and clinch the win for LIU, 10-3.
 
Sobieski (7-9) had the win on the mound for the Blackbirds in game two, pitching 5.2 innings and giving up just one run, while striking out three. Bermea finished the day going 4-for-8 at the plate with six RBI and three runs scored. Gutierrez finished the day going 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI, while Claussell was second on the team with four RBI. Griffin and Hinkle led the team with five hits apiece; Griffin went 5-for-7 with six runs scored, and two RBI, while Hinkle went 5-for-8 with two runs scored.
 
Up next, the Blackbirds host Saint Francis University, Sunday, April 15 at 2:30 p.m. Follow LIU on Twitter (@LIUAthletics) for any weather-related updates.