STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.— Behind a complete game effort from freshman Nick Torres, the LIU Brooklyn baseball team earned a 5-0 shutout win over Wagner on Saturday afternoon. The Blackbirds registered their Northeast Conference leading third shutout of the season at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.
Torres picked up the first complete game of his career and the first by an LIU pitcher this season. The right hander needed just 102 pitches on the day in the four-hit shutout. He did not allow a free pass and fanned five batters in his third win of the season.
Offensively, the Blackbirds outhit the Seahawks 7-4. Senior Brock Hallum paced the Blackbirds with his third straight muti-hit game. Hallum also crossed the plate twice for LIU and now has 10 runs scored in the last four games. Senior Luiny Monegro picked up his fourth multi-RBI game of the season, driving in a pair of runs for the Blackbirds.
After both teams soared out of the gate in yesterday's series opener, there were just two combined hits through the first two frames. LIU got going in the top of the third inning as senior Joe Mercadante earned the full-count walk. He scored all the way from first in the next at bat as junior Rob Griswold lined a single to center that was misplayed by Wagner for the 1-0 lead.
The Blackbirds continued in the top half of the fourth inning as Hallum led off the inning with a single to left field. After a fly out to right field, junior Tim Bechtold was hit by a pitch to give LIU a pair of runners on. A flyout to deep center advanced Hallum to third and Bechtold swiped second shortly after. Monegro then lined a 1-2 pitch up the middle to clear the bases and push the lead to 3-0.
Wagner's biggest threat was in the bottom of the fourth with runners at the corners in one out. The LIU defense came up big as Torres induced a ground ball to third for the five-four-three double play to end the Seahawks inning.
Senior Gregory Vaughn Jr. led off the eighth inning with a single for LIU. He later swiped his third stolen base and advanced to third on a flyout. Hallum drove in Vaughn on a RBI single to left field. Senior Andrew Smith then stepped to the plate and delivered a RBI double to left center to cap the game's scoring.
Torres went three up three down in the final two frames to seal the complete game effort and give the Blackbirds the series win.
UP NEXT
The Blackbirds look for the season series sweep against Wagner with a 1:00 p.m. start on Sunday, April 14.