BROOKLYN, N.Y.—The LIU Brooklyn baseball team split its Northeast Conference doubleheader against Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon. The Blackbirds stormed out to a 10-3 victory in game one before the Pioneers grabbed a 17-10 victory in game two to set up a rubber game tomorrow at LIU Field.

Game One – LIU 10, SHU 3
 
Both offenses would come out swinging to start the weekend series in game one. The Pioneers grabbed the early lead with a RBI single in the top of the first inning.
 
LIU answered right back as senior Joe Mercadante led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run to left field. The Blackbirds plated two more runs in the inning on a RBI single by Edward Modcia Jr. and RBI fielder's choice from junior Tim Bechtold for the 3-1 advantage.
 
SHU scratched one run back in the second inning on a LIU fielding error to cut the lead to one.  LIU answered with a solo home run by sophomore Colin Adams to extend the lead back to two.
 
The Pioneers plated their final run in the top of the third on a ground rule double to bring the deficit back down to one.
 
LIU then capitalized on a four-run fourth inning as junior Rob Griswold recorded a one-out ground rule double to right center and senior Brock Hallum followed that up with a three-run home run down the right field line to push the lead to five at 8-3.
 
Senior Alex Briggs capped the game's scoring in the sixth inning with a two-run home run to left field for the team's fourth round bagger of the game.
 
The Blackbirds registered 11 hits in the opening game with four batters recording multi-hit games. Briggs led the way with three hits. The top four batters in the lineup also produced two runs scored apiece.
 
Freshman Alec Huertas started game one, going five and a third innings, surrendering just two earned runs while striking out five for the victory. Senior Zach Pederson pitched the final three and two thirds of relief, giving up just one hit for his first save of the season.  
 
Game Two – SHU 17, LIU 10
 
The second game opened again with a Pioneers run in the opening frame, this time off a leadoff home run for the early lead.

LIU capitalized on a SHU throwing error to tie the game up in the next half inning before jumping ahead on a sacrifice fly by Briggs to bring the score to 2-1.
 
SHU capitalized on an 11-run fourth inning against the Blackbirds using eight hits and a pair of LIU errors including three home runs to take back the lead at 12-1.
 
The Blackbirds kept cutting back at the Pioneers lead grabbing a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth inning on a pair of RBI walks and hit by pitches. The team grabbed one more run in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI single from senior Luiny Monegro to bring the score to 13-7.
 
SHU put the game out of reach with a three-run seventh inning. LIU closed out the game with a two-run home run from Bechtold in the eighth and a RBI single from Briggs in the ninth to cap the scoring at 17-10.
 
LIU was outhit 20-9 by the visiting Pioneers in the second game. Freshman Nick Torres suffered the loss for the Blackbirds in the start for game two.
 
UP NEXT

LIU looks to earn its third straight Northeast Conference weekend series in the weekend finale tomorrow against the Pioneers. The Blackbirds will host their annual alumni day on Sunday afternoon.