BROOKLYN, N.Y.  – The LIU Brooklyn baseball team (24-21, 12-9 NEC) will attempt to lock up a spot in the upcoming Northeast Conference tournament this weekend, traveling north to take on Sacred Heart. The four-game series will begin on Thursday, May 10, at 11:30 a.m., followed by a doubleheader Friday at 1:00 p.m., and finishing up with a single game Saturday at 1:00 p.m. All four games in this final road trip of the regular season will be played at New Britain Stadium, in New Britain, Conn.

The Pioneers (14-31, 9-12) put themselves back in the thick of the NEC standings with a four game sweep over Fairleigh Dickinson last weekend, as their NEC Tournament fate hangs in the balance against the Blackbirds.

PROBABLE STARTERS & SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 10 - 11:30 a.m.  LIVE STATS
So. LHP Patrick Clyne (3-3, 4.43 ERA) vs. Sr. LHP James Taubl (1-5, 5.92 ERA)
Friday, May 11 - 1:00 p.m.  LIVE STATS
Jr. RHP Zach Pederson (5-3, 3.60 ERA) vs. Jr. RHP Brent Teller (3-6, 5.59 ERA)
Friday, May 11 - 3:00 p.m.  LIVE STATS
Jr. LHP Cory Hart (3-2, 6.35 ERA) vs. Fr. RHP Cooper Thompson (4-4, 5.08 ERA)
Saturday, May 12  - 1:00 p.m. LIVE STATS
So. RHP Jackson Svete (3-2, 2.36 ERA) vs. Fr. RHP Ryan Lamay (1-2, 6.29 ERA)

LIU Brooklyn Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats
Sacred Heart Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats

LIU WINS TWO OVER FIRST PLACE WAGNER
The Blackbirds split a four-game series with Wagner in Brooklyn last weekend, winning the first game, 8-7, with a walk-off base-on-balls in the bottom of the ninth in game one. Then on Saturday, LIU dropped a pair of one-run games, 3-2 and 6-5, before prevailing in the final game, 7-3. Junior Edward Modica Jr. hit two home runs and had five RBIs in the series, while classmate Andrew Smith went 5-for-10 at the dish with four walks and had three RBIs. On the hill, senior Baylor LaPointe picked up both wins in relief, and sophomore Rob Griswold was the top pitcher, throwing two scoreless innings in each of the final three games of the series - both games of Saturday's doubleheader and on Sunday. He also had another scoreless appearance earlier in the week and has become an intrical part of the team's bullpen in just a few short weeks.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS: BLACKBIRDS vs. PIONEERS

• Team Hitting
  • BATTING - LIU:  .262 (5th/NEC); SHU Batting: .252 (7th/NEC)
  • LIU leads the NEC in steals (62) and stands tied for 2nd with 36 home runs.
  • SHU hit seven homers in one game vs. FDU last week and is now fourth in the league with 32 round-trippers.
• Leading Hitters
  • BATTING - LIU: Andrew Turner (.317); SHU: Dan Schock (.317)
  • RUNS - LIU: Gregory Vaughn Jr. (32); SHU: Schock  (31)
  • HOME RUNS - LIU: Turner, Alex Briggs (5); SHU: Schock (12)
  • RBIs - LIU: Dom Paiotti (29); SHU: Schock (42)
  • STOLEN BASES - LIU: Luis Arias de los Santos (13); SHU: Elijah Brown (12)
  • OPS (On Base + Slugging) - LIU: Turner (1.005); SHU: Schock (1.069)
• Team Pitching
  • ERA - LIU: 4.76 (3rd/NEC); SHU: 6.86  (6th/NEC)
  • LIU leads the NEC in strikeouts with 358 and is third in both ERA and opponent batting average with two weeks left.
• Leading Pitchers
  • WINS - LIU: Zach Pederson (5); SHU: Cooper Thompson (4)
  • ERA - LIU: Pederson (3.60); SHU: Thompson (5.08)
  • INNINGS - LIU: Pederson (65.0); SHU: Teller (66.0)
  • APPEARANCES - LIU: Mike Kreiger, Baylor LaPointe (22); SHU: Jackson Aldam (20)
  • STRIKEOUTS - LIU: Patrick Clyne (72-10.3 K/9); SHU: Teller (69-9.4 K/9)
  • SAVES - LIU: Kreiger (4); SHU: Aldam (3)

• LIU has won six NEC weekly awards this season, with Griswold's honor this past week (5/7). LIU now has had three different pitchers earn NECs top in-season honor with Patrick Clyne getting Pitcher of the Week three times (3/5, 4/2, 4/23) and Zach Pederson earned the honor once (3/12). Offensively, Andrew Turner got the nod for Player of the Week back on February 19. The five pitching nods ties the Blackbirds with Bryant for tops in the league.
• Sacred Heart won two NEC awards this past Monday, as leading hitter Dan Schock had four homers and 11 RBIs in their series sweep at FDU to take Player honors, while freshman starter Ryan Lamay earned his first win and Rookie of the Week honors after going seven innings and allowing only one run versus the Knights.
• With three more wins, the Blackbirds will make the NEC Tournament for the first time since 2013, which is also the last time the team had a winning conference mark (16-14-1).  
• The Pioneers (14-31, 9-12) are still in the thick of the playoff picture with seven games remaining as well, but will face first place Wagner in the final weekend, making this series even more vital to the team's chances.