LORETTO, PA. -- The LIU Brooklyn softball team split a Northeast Conference doubleheader on Sunday at Red Flash Field, beating the two-time defending champions Saint Francis U., 11-3 in game one, before falling, 9-5 in game two. With one win today, the Blackbirds (29-15, 10-2) clinched a berth in the upcoming NEC Championships and need only one win to clinch no less than the number two seed in the tournament, which SFU (24-28, 8-6) has hosted the last two years.
GAME 1: LIU 11, SAINT FRANCIS U. 3
Freshman Alyssa Martinez hit a solo home run in the top of the third inning to break through a scoreless tie and the Blackbirds never trailed from there against the Red Flash. Later in the frame, sophomore Alina Castillo drove in two runs with a single to right field to put LIU up 3-0. After giving a run back in the bottom of the third, senior Schae Dickson singled in the fifth inning to bring home junior Katie Hinkle and get the lead back to three runs, 4-1.
The Red Flash got close in the fifth inning on a two-run homer by Hayley Norton, with the score 4-3 in favor of the visitors, just before the the Blackbirds pulled away in the sixth.
In the sixth inning, LIU got a solo home run by sophomore Kiana Cisneros, as eight straight Blackbirds reached base. The scoring in the inning ended in the same way it started, with the long ball as Castillo blasted a three-run homer to center field with two runners on to put the game away, 11-3.
LIU starter Elena Valenzuela (15-3) closed out her NEC leading 15th victory with her NEC leading 12th complete game for the Blackbirds on the mound. At the plate, Castillo had a season-high five runs batted in to lead the offensive effort.
GAME 2: SAINT FRANCIS U. 9, LIU 5
The two NEC finalists from last season, combined for six home runs in game two, with SFU winning that battle 3-2, and the game 9-5.
The teams traded runs in the first, with Dickson hitting a single off the right field fence to score Griffin, who singled to lead off the game. In the bottom half, SFU's Norton hit her second home run of the day, a two run shot to put the Red Flash up 2-1.
In the next half inning, Martinez doubled down the left field line to score Ryleigh Bermea and knot the game at 2-2. But the Red Flash scored a pair off of LIU starter Victoria Lowe (8-8) and went back ahead 4-2 after two innings.
The third inning was a slugfest with Dickson and Garcia each hitting solo home runs to tie the game again, 4-4. Then in the bottom half, Norton proved to be unstoppable on the day with her third round-tripper of the game, as the Red Flash went back up to stay, 5-4.
Saint Francis added a pair of two-run homers by Meckenzie Saban and Sierra McKee in the fourth inning, to extend the lead to 9-4. Griffin slugged a double to left center in the the top of the sixth to score pinch runner Emily Collins and cut the deficit to 9-5, but the Blackbirds' rallies in both the sixth and seventh frames came up short.
Starter Mikayla Bower went the full seven innings for SFU, improving to 7-11 on the season with the win.
BLACKBIRD NOTES
Castillo added another RBI in game two to notch a career-high six for the day… Five different LIU players hit home runs on the day: Castillo, Cisneros, Dickson, Garcia and Martinez… Dickson had her best day at the plate in conference play this season, going 3-for-4 with the home run and two RBIs in game two… Griffin was 3-for-6 with three runs and an RBI on the day… The Blackbirds current win streak was stopped at 6 win the game two defeat, the team has had three 6+ win streaks this season, with a high of eight straight during the last week down in Florida.
MIDWEEK MATCHUP NEXT UP
The Blackbirds will play their final non-conference game of the season, at nearby Rutgers of the Big Ten in Piscataway N.J. on Wednesday, May 1 at 4:00 p.m. LIU will return home for two NEC twinbills on Friday (CCSU) and Saturday (Bryant) to close out the regular season.