LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The 2019 LIU Brooklyn softball team split the first two games on Friday at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, beating Massachusetts, 9-5 in the nightcap, after falling 5-0 to Bethune-Cookman, earlier in the afternoon.
Saturday's schedule will start with Villanova, from the Big East Conference at 11:00 a.m. followed later on by Troy at 4:00 p.m. The weekend will conclude on Sunday with a matchup against Stetson at 9:00 a.m.
BETHUNE-COOKMAN 5, LIU BROOKLYN 0
A first inning grand slam by Kaiya Epps-Lee in catapulted the Eagles to a 5-0 win in each team's first of five games at the Diamond 9 Citrus Blossom Invitational. Victoria Guzman and Destiny Enriquez combined on the shutout for BC (1-0).
Six Blackbirds collected hits in the game, with senior Amanda Domingo coming off the bench with a pinch-hit double to highlight the offense. Junior Haley Irvis (2-2) took the loss with six strikeouts over 5.1 innings in her fourth start of the season. Freshman Zoe Estoppey came in for the final six batters, yielding only one hit and one walk over 1.2 innings of action.
LIU BROOKLYN 9, MASSACHUSETTS 5 (8 inn.)
LIU freshman Elena Valenzuela earned her first collegiate win, going eight strong, as the Blackbirds beat UMass with a five run eighth frame to win 9-5 in extra innings. Making her first start of the season, Valenzuela (1-0) went the distance, yielding only one walk and three earned runs to go with three strikeouts for the victors. Kiara Oliver (0-2) took the loss in relief for the Minutewomen.
Senior first baseman Schae Dickson had a two-RBI single in the eighth to cap the LIU scoring at a season-high nine runs. Earlier, in the fifth inning, she hit a two-run home run to left center to give the Blackbirds a 4-2 lead at the time. For the game, Dickson went 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and the four runs batted in to lead the LIU attack.
TOURNAMENT COVERAGE: There will be Live Stats for four of the five games of the tournament. All links can be found on the LIU
Softball schedule page.
Also there is video available for a subscription price at the link here: Video link.