BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The LIU Brooklyn baseball team had its three game winning streak snapped on Tuesday by Manhattan, 3-2 at LIU Field.  The Blackbirds were edged late by a three-run eighth inning by the visiting Jaspers.
 
The LIU offense commanded 10 plus hits for the second consecutive game, finishing with 11 on the day.  Senior Gregory Vaughn Jr. led the way with three hits and scored both Blackbird runs. Seniors Alex Briggs and Joe Mercadante along with junior Rob Griswold recorded two hits.  Senior Brock Hallum and junior Tim Bechtold registered the LIU runs batted in.
 
The Blackbirds got a leadoff single from Vaughn to open the fourth inning. He advanced to second on an errant throw from the Jaspers third basemen before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Briggs beat out an infield single to give LIU runners on the corners. Hallum delivered a fielder's choice up the middle for the RBI and 1-0 lead.
 
Manhattan was held largely in check by freshman Alec Huertas over the first five and a third innings. The rookie right-hander registered a career-high nine strikeouts while yielding just one hit.
 
The Jaspers threatened with a runner on second and third with one out in the top of the sixth but junior Patrick Clyne shut the inning down with a pair of strikeouts.
 
LIU looked to double its lead in the bottom half of the seventh inning with runners on the corners with no outs. Manhattan eventually worked out of the inning on a groundout to third.

Manhattan worked runners in scoring position with one out in the top half of the eighth on back-to-back LIU miscues. The Blackbirds earned the second out as Griswold earned the strikeout. After an intentional walk to load the bases, the Jaspers earned a hit by pitch on a two-two offering from Griswold. Manhattan then claimed the 3-1 lead on a two-run single to left field.  Manhattan got sophomore Colin Adams to chase out of the zone to earn the 3-2 win.
 
As the Blackbirds looked to rally in the ninth, Vaughn led off the inning with his third hit of the game.  He advanced to second on a wild pitch to give LIU a runner in scoring position. The Jaspers recorded two outs shortly after looking close out the game. Junior Tim Bechtold came on to pinch hit and delivered a RBI single to left field to bring the deficit to one. Griswold then responded with a single to put the tying and go-ahead run on base.
 
The Blackbirds pitching staff combined for a season-high 18 strikeouts. Huertas led the way with nine strikeouts followed by five from Griswold. Cylne and senior Mike Kreiger both added a pair of strikeouts.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Blackbirds welcome Bryant to LIU Field for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 29 at 3:00 p.m.