BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The LIU Brooklyn baseball team fell to Sacred Heart, 9-3 on Sunday afternoon to close out the Northeast Conference weekend series at LIU Field.
 
The Blackbirds were outhit 14-4 in the series finale by the visiting Pioneers. Junior Rob Griswold paced the LIU lineup, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and two runs batted in against SHU.
 
LIU struck first in the bottom half of the opening inning as Griswold started things off with a double down the right field line. After back-to-back walks loaded the bases, senior Andrew Smith earned a four pitch RBI walk for the 1-0 lead.
 
The Blackbirds added another run in the bottom of the first as Griswold recorded a RBI single up the middle with one out to score senior Luiny Monegro from second base.
 
SHU's offense responded in the top of the third with three runs on four hits along with a LIU error to take the lead 3-2.
 
The Pioneers created some separation in the sixth inning, putting up three more runs including a two-run home run to jump ahead 6-2. LIU grabbed one run in the bottom of the sixth on a bases loaded RBI walk by Griswold but SHU was able to escape the inning on a pop up.
 
A three-run seventh inning by the visiting team capped the game's scoring at 9-3.
 
Junior Jackson Svete suffered the decision for LIU, throwing the first five innings. He surrendered three unearned runs and struck out seven batters. Griswold pitched the final two innings of relief, giving up just two hits while striking out four.
 
UP NEXT
 
LIU closes out its homestand on Tuesday, April 30 with a 3:00 p.m. start against Stony Brook.