BRONX, N.Y.— The LIU Brooklyn baseball team closed out its first weekend of Northeast Conference play splitting a doubleheader against Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers snuck by with a 4-3 win in game one before the Blackbirds closed out the series with a 3-2 win in game two at Houlihan Park.

Game 1 - SHU 4, LIU 3

LIU broke open the scoring in game one in the top half of the second as senior Joe Mercadante reached on a one-out walk before advancing to third on a single by senior Alex Smith. Junior Rob Griswold drove in the first run of the frame with a RBI single through the right side. The Blackbirds didn't stop there as senior Luiny Monegro roped a two RBI double to the gap in right center for a 3-0 LIU lead.

SHU got on the board in the bottom half of the third on a Justin Jordan leadoff home run. The Pioneers tied the game up at 3-3 in the next inning on a two RBI single from Trevor Fagan. LIU's offense was quieted by SHU's Ryan Lamay over the next few innings.

The home team broke the deadlock in the bottom of the sixth with a RBI single from Jordan to go up 4-3. The Blackbirds looked to tie the game up in the ninth as senior Alex Briggs and Mercadante reached a hit by pitch with one out. SHU escaped trouble with a fielders choice at third to nab LIU's tying run before a strikeout ended the ballgame.

Freshman Nick Torres went six innings in his first career start, surrendering four runs on eight hits while striking out five. Junior Patrick Clyne pitched two innings of relief, giving up a pair of hits to go with one strikeout.

Game 2 - LIU 3, SHU 2

The Blackbirds got on the board first in game two as senior Gregory Vaughn Jr. reached on a one-out single. He swiped second base before advancing to third on an errant throw by the Pioneers backstop. Senior Alex Briggs recorded a RBI single to put LIU on the board 1-0. The Blackbirds looked extend the inning with runners on second and third with two outs but SHU escaped the inning on a lineout.

LIU picked up another run in the top of the fourth inning as Mercadante recorded a two-out RBI single to left field to score sophomore Colin Adams. The Blackbirds added one more run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Smith for a 3-0 lead.

Senior Zach Pederson set the tempo on the bump for LIU, holding the Pioneers to just four hits over the first six innings. SHU was able to scratch a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on a RBI double by Danny Glendon and a RBI single from Fagan. Senior Mike Kreiger came on in relief of Pederson and struck out the final two batters of the inning.

The Pioneers looked to tie the game up in the bottom of the eighth inning with the bases loaded but Kreiger shut the door with a groundout to end the inning before pitching a 1-2-3 ninth for the save and giving LIU its first conference win.

Seven batters in the LIU lineup recorded a hit in game two. Pederson scattered seven hits over six and a third innings for his first win of the season. Kreiger has registered a save in back-to-back outings for the Blackbirds.

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The Blackbirds host Iona College on Tuesday, March 19 at 3:00 p.m. in downtown Brooklyn.