NEW BRITAIN, CONN. – The LIU Brooklyn women's softball team dropped two games to Central Connecticut State Sunday afternoon, 9-0 and 14-5. With the losses, the Blackbirds move to 13-20 on the season, and 2-3 in the Northeast Conference.
 
In the first game of the day, CCSU's pitcher held LIU to just three hits. The Blue Devils would score three runs in the first inning, and added four more in the third, to take the 7-0 lead. CCSU added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to widen the lead to 9-0, before LIU was able to get a runner in scoring position. LIU would get a runner in scoring position in the top of the fifth, when Evie Claussell walked and a single by Katie Hinkle advanced her, but a pop out would end the inning, and CCSU would take the shortened five-inning win, 9-0.
 
In the second game of the day, the Blackbirds took an early lead on the Blue Devils. Freshman Kiana Cisneros reached on an error, and senior Victoria Zamora walked to put two runners on. Junior Patricia Griffin came up, and singled through the right side to score Cisneros, and Zamora scored on an error by the CCSU catcher to make it 2-0. With two outs, freshman Ryleigh Bermea brought a run home with her single through the left side, and the Blackbirds had a 3-0 advantage.
 
CCSU would get on the board by scoring a run in the bottom of the second, but LIU answered by scoring again in the top of the third. Griffin led off with a bunt single, and two outs later, senior Angie Vazquez singled to advance her. She'd come home on the next at bat, when Claussell singled to left field to make it 4-1 LIU.
 
But in the bottom of the fourth, CCSU would rally to tie the game up, scoring a run on an RBI single, and two more runs on a double down the right field line. Another RBI single would give the Blue Devils the 5-4 advantage heading into the fifth frame. LIU would tie it up in the top of the fifth, when a sacrifice fly from Cisneros would score Claussell to make it 5-5.
 
The Blue Devils would break the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring six runs on five hits and an error, to take the 11-5 lead. The Blackbirds would load the bases in the top of the top of the sixth, but CCSU's defense would get the next two batters to retire, and the Blue Devils went in to the bottom of the sixth inning up, 11-5. The home team would add three more runs in the bottom of the frame on a three run homer, taking the lead, 14-5, and ending the game in the sixth for the win.
 
Up next, the Blackbirds head to Queens to take on St. John's for a midweek nonconference matchup, Thursday, April 12 at 3 p.m.