LORETTO, Pa. – In a must-win situation Friday at the Northeast Conference championship tournament, the LIU Brooklyn softball team did just that, upsetting the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds to advance to Saturday's championship game. The Blackbirds beat No. 2 seed CCSU in the first game of the day, and staved off a late rally to beat No. 3 seed Sacred Heart, 5-4, in the second game of the day.
With the two wins, LIU advanced to Saturday's championship games. The Blackbirds get another shot at No. 1 seed and host, Saint Francis U., Saturday, May 12 at 11:00 a.m. LIU will need to beat the Red Flash twice to clinch the championship win in the double elimination tournament.
LIU Brooklyn 7, CCSU 4
In the first game of the day, the Blackbirds used a late inning bomb from junior
Schae Dickson to take the win over the No. 2 seeded Blue Devils. And LIU's bats were on fire right from the start of the game. After sophomore
Katie Hinkle led off with a single through the left side, senior
Victoria Zamora had a home run over the right center field fence that made it 2-0 LIU. Freshman
Ryleigh Bermea would make it 3-0 for the Blackbirds when she hit a leadoff home run in the top of the fourth inning.
CCSU got on the board with a leadoff homer of their own in the bottom of the fourth, and would score twice more in the inning to tie it up, 3-3. In the next inning, the Blue Devils took the lead on a two out home run, 4-3.
But the Blackbirds answered in the top of the sixth. Bermea singled to reach, and freshman
Kiana Cisneros was walked. With one out, Dickson came to the plate and hit a bomb over the center field fence, bringing all the runners home, and giving the Blackbirds the go-ahead run, 6-4. LIU wasn't done yet, however. Freshman Alaina Castillo had a bunt single and beat the throw, and one out later, senior
Angie Vazquez drove her home with a double to right field, giving the Blackbirds a three-run cushion, 7-4.
Senior pitcher
Erynn Sobieski clinched the win for the Blackbirds, retiring the final six batters in order over the last two innings, assuring LIU of the 7-4 win. Sobieski (10-11) had the win on the mound for the Blackbirds, giving up just one hit in the final three innings.
LIU Brooklyn 5, Sacred Heart 4
In the second game of the day, the #3 seeded Sacred Heart Pioneers took an early lead, scoring in the bottom of the second inning. But the Blackbirds would blow the game open in the top of the fourth inning. Zamora led off for the Blackbirds when she was hit by a pitch, and senior
Nereyda Gutierrez was walked to put two runners on. After one out, Cisneros singled up the middle to load the bases. From there, back-to-back singles from Dickson and Castillo would plate two runs, and Hinkle brought another run home when she and Castillo beat the throws in the infield. Two batters later, sophomore
Patricia Griffin had a double that would bring two more runners home, and the Blackbirds led, 5-1.
Sobieski was also dealing on the mound, as the senior retired 11 batters in a row to hold SHU scoreless. The Pioneers would get back on the board in the bottom of the sixth, scoring on an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-2. And the Pioneers would rally in the bottom of the seventh, nearly coming back to win it. A two-run homer with no outs would cut the gap to 5-4, but Sobieski came back in to pitch. The senior got the next batter to strike out, and Bermea made a huge catch in center field to get the second out. On the final at bat, Sobieski got the batter to hit a pop-up foul, and Dickson made the catch by the home team dugout to clinch the win for the Blackbirds.
UP NEXT
The Blackbirds face off with Saint Francis U. again Saturday at 11 a.m. LIU needs to beat the Red Flash twice to win their second championship in three years.
BLACKBIRD BITS
- Senior Victoria Zamora was 1-for-3 at the plate against CCSU with two RBI, while freshman Ryleigh Bermea was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
- Patricia Griffin went 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBI against the Pioneers, while Schae Dickson was 3-for-3 with an RBI, finishing with four RBI on the day.
- Senior Erynn Sobieski had both wins to improve to 11-11 on the mound. The senior pitched 9.2 innings, registering five strikeouts, while giving up just seven hits and two earned runs all day.