BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The LIU Brooklyn softball team got back in the win column defeating Illinois State, 5-3 at the FAU/FIU Parents' Weekend Tournament in Boca Raton on Saturday. It was the ninth win in the last ten games for the Blackbirds (12-7), who will finish the event on Sunday with a pair of games in Miami at Florida International.

The Blackbirds took a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when sophomore Kiana Cisneros hit a two-out single to right field to score senior Schae Dickson, who had singled herself earlier in the frame.

LIU's two-time NEC Pitcher and Rookie of the Week, Elena Valenzuela took the mound on Saturday, but gave up three hits in a row in the first frame. For the first time since February 15, she gave up three earned runs in a start when Ellie Weltha hit a two-run double and Emme Olson followed with an RBI single to make the score 3-1 in favor of the Redbirds.

But the Blackbirds came right back in the top of the second as sophomore Ryleigh Bermea tripled to center field to lead off and senior Amanda Domingo doubled her home in the next at bat. Four batters later with two runners on, Dickson drove home the tying run with a single to left field.

With the game tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the second, junior Haley Irvis came on to pitch for the Blackbirds, replacing Valenzuela. LIU's Samantha Garcia would get the eventual winning RBI in the top of the fourth frame when the freshman was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make the game 4-3. The Blackbirds added a run in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly to right field by freshman Kelsey Day, for a 5-3 score. It was the rookie's first collegiate run batted in.

Senior starter Ali Domkuski (2-3) went the first 3.2 innings for Illinois State (5-18), taking the loss before giving way to a pair of relievers, Mack Leonard (2.2 innings) and Morgan Day, who came in during the seventh inning.

Irvis (3-2), who hasn't yielded a run in her last three outings, went three scoreless innings to earn her third win of the season. She was followed by junior Tallie Woodson, who threw three perfect innings to pick up her first save since the 2017 season.

WELCOME TO MIAMI
On Sunday, March 10, the Blackbirds will close out the FAU/FIU Parent's Weekend Tournament at Florida International  in Miami with two games on tap. LIU will face Yale at 12:00 p.m. and the host Panthers at 2:15 p.m. as the team says goodbye to the Atlantic Ocean and heads to the Gulf Coast of Florida for next week's games.