MIAMI, FLA. -- The LIU Brooklyn softball team ended the weekend in South Florida on a thrilling note, a 1-0 win in extra innings over Florida International, to close out the FAU/FIU Parents' Weekend Tournament. Earlier in the day, the Blackbirds (13-8) were on the short side of a 1-0 game against Yale at FIU in Miami, as pitching was at a premium on Sunday.
The Blackbirds will now head to Clearwater on the opposite coast, following the team's third consecutive winning weekend, going 3-2 in their five games in Boca Raton and Miami.
YALE 1, LIU 0
Both starting pitchers had excellent outings on Sunday, going the distance for their respective teams. LIU's Victoria Lowe (3-4) gave up only six hits and two walks, while striking out a team season-high six batters, but a run in the first frame by the Bulldogs was the difference in the decision.
In the bottom of the first inning, a Sydney Grobman single down the left field line scored Olivia Vinyard from second base for the only run of the game. The Blackbirds had a runner on third base twice in the game and had a runner on second in the seventh, but were unable to advance any of those runner and get a run across.
Yale's (4-7) Nic Conway pitched the complete-game shutout. She yielded just three hits and struck out four to earn her third win of the season.
LIU 1, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 0 (8 innings)
LIU freshman pitcher Elena Valenzuela bounced back from a rough Saturday with a tremendous outing on Sunday, her fourth shutout of the season, even pitching a perfect eighth inning to get her seventh win of the season. Valenzuela (7-2) gave up only four hits and walked two batters in eight innings of work, while tying her season-high with five strikeouts in the 1-0 win.
Megan Kugelman started for the Panthers (17-8), going the first five frames, before giving way to Allison Muraskin (5-5), who picked up the loss, for the final three innings of work.
Early in the game, the Blackbirds had a runner on third base, but were unable to bring her home in the third inning.
Fast forward to the top of the eighth inning, freshman Camryn Lyman was placed on second base for the International Tie Breaker and she immediately advanced to third on a passed ball. Junior Katie Hinkle got on via a fielder's choice and stole second with no one out to really put the pressure on FIU to keep the game scoreless. Junior Patricia Griffin took her second pitch and bolted it into left field to allow Lyman to score the winning run for the Blackbirds. Griffin had three hits on the afternoon, her second three-hit game of the season.
LAST WEEKEND IN FLORIDA NEXT
The Blackbirds will finish up Spring break with their fifth and final tournament in Florida, as they head back to the Gulf coast for the USF Tournament in Clearwater, hosted by South Florida from March 15-17.