BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- The No. 1 LIU Brooklyn softball team (36-18) beat Saint Francis U. (29-29) in Game 6 of the 2019 Northeast Conference Championship at LIU Field on Saturday, 6-1 to force a winner-take-all Game 7, but the two-time defending champions stopped the Blackbirds, 8-6 in the final game to earn the NEC title once again.

GAME 6: LIU 8, SAINT FRANCIS U. 1
LIU starter Tallie Woodson (6-2) started the bottom of the first by striking out two Red Flash batters. Then in to top half of the second, sophomore Alina Castillo got hit by a pitch to lead off, when classmate Kiana Cisneros hit a double into the left center gap to score Castillo. The Blackbirds got the early 1-0 lead.

The score stayed the same until the top of the fourth, when LIU got back-to-back-to-back singles by senior Schae Dickson, Castillo and Cisneros, followed by a walk to freshman Samantha Garcia to score Dickson. With no outs in the inning, Red Flash starter Christina Clark knuckled down for the second time in the game and got out of danger with only one run scoring, 2-0 LIU.

The Red Flashes Hayley Norton cut the lead in half with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth, cutting the lead to 2-1.

In the top of the fifth Dickson did it herself, with freshman Camryn Lyman on base after a hit by pitch, Dickson slammed a soaring homer over the left field fence to put Blackbirds up 4-1. Then in the sixth inning, Dickson doubled up, hitting a double to left field to score a pair and give LIU a commanding 6-1 lead.

Meanwhile in the circle, Woodson (6-2) was in control, giving up only four hits and no walks, while striking out four SFU batters.

GAME 7: SAINT FRANCIS U. 8, LIU 6
The Red Flash came right out of the gate in game two to score a run in the first inning off of Woodson, who started Game 7 after her terrific performance in Game 6. In the top of the third, SFU added another pair of runs and led 3-0. Woodson started the fourth inning, but came out after allowing only her second walk in 10 innings of work on the mound. In total, the Red Flash put five more runs on the board in the fourth frame to take a commanding 8-0 lead.

Woodson (6-3) took the loss only hours after pitching a gem in the previous game. Freshman Elena Valenzuela, the NEC Pitcher of the Year who was 2-0 in the NEC Championships, came in briefly in the fourth in relief, but gave up one hit and three walks. Sophomore Victoria Lowe became LIU's third pitcher of the the inning. Lowe ended up going the final 3.2 innings and did not yield a hit.

In the bottom of the fourth, LIU started to steal some of the momentum with a three run blast by sophomore Ryleigh Bermea, her fifth of the season, to score Castillo and Cisneros, who walked and scored in succession to try to get the Blackbirds on their way back.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Blackbirds threatened with two runners on, but Cisneros' line drive to right center, was caught on the defensive play of the game by centerfielder Jordan Frank. Lastly, in their final turn at bat in the bottom of the seventh, Garcia rocketed her second home run of the tournament, a two-run shot to score Castillo, who got on via a single.

But in the end the comeback was stopped by SFU freshman pitcher Christina Clark who had two wins and a save in the NEC Championships, as she was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Clark came on for the final 2.1 innings and only allowed the Garcia home run.

NEC-ALL TOURNAMENT
The Blackbirds got three players on the All-Tournament Team for their efforts throughout the weekend. Kiana Cisneros hit a team-high .533 over the five games, going 8-for-15 with four runs scored. Meanwhile, Schae Dickson (.333, one HR) and Samantha Garcia (.429, 2 HR) each had six RBIs in the 3-2 tournament.

BLACKBIRD BITS
LIU hit .354 for the weekend, as Katie Hinkle also had a strong tournament, going 8-for-16 (.500) with four runs scored and Ryleigh Bermea led the team in runs batted in with seven… The Blackbirds finish up this historic season with a 13-2 record in the Bird Cage.