BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The LIU Brooklyn baseball team returns to LIU Field to close out the regular season with a three-game series against Central Connecticut State beginning Thursday, May 16 at 3:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
LIU traveled up to Hartford for its final non-conference and road matchup at Dunkin Donuts Park in downtown Hartford. The Hawks used a big opening frame to set the tone as the Blackbirds cut into the lead in the third inning. Hartford's offense put up a seven run seventh inning to put the game away.
The Blackbirds recorded double digit hits for the 17th time this season, finishing the game with 11. Senior Brock Hallum led the offense with three hits and senior Joe Mercadante along with junior Rob Griswold added a pair of hits.
PLAYOFF PUSH
The defending Northeast Conference champion Blackbirds enters the final weekend fourth in the conference standings. Bryant and CCSU have clinched the top two berths for the Tournament next weekend. The final two spots are up for grabs, with the Blackbirds, Sacred Heart, FDU and Wagner are all fighting for the remaining spots this weekend. Looking around the league's final slate, the Pioneers will take on Bryant at home and the Knights play host to the Seahawks to conclude the season. Of note, LIU owns the head-to-head tiebreakers over FDU and Wagner.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
CCSU enters the final weekend of the regular season, 24-19 and 14-7 in NEC play. The Blue Devils have won nine straight games against league competition with two road sweeps against Mount and Wagner and a sweep in its home series finale against FDU.
On the season, CCSU is batting .259 as a team and currently ranks first in the NEC with a .969 fielding percentage. On the mound the Blue Devils command a team ERA of 4.73, which ranks second in the NEC.
Junior Dave Matthews paces the Blue Devils lineup with a .294 batting average, 13 doubles and 30 RBI on the season to go along with a .402 on base percentage. Sophomore Jake Siracusa paces the conference circuit with five triples on the season. Sophomore TT Bowens has been a strong addition to the lineup since returning from injury. The reigning NEC Player of the week is batting .381 with nine doubled and 14 RBI in 21 games.
CCSU features three right handers in its starting weekend rotation and have earned the last two NEC pitcher of the week honors. Brandon Fox paces the rotation with a 3.73 earned run average and 70 innings on the season. Patrick Mitchell leads the team with five wins and two complete games on the season. Mitchell and Tom Curtin have fanned a team-high 36 batters on the season. In the pen, Jared Gallagher has logged a team-high 19 appearances and seven saves.
SENIOR SATURDAY
The Blackbirds will honor the class of 2019 in the finale at LIU Field on Saturday. LIU will honor 13 seniors prior to the 1:00 p.m. start. Recent graduates Mike Kreiger, Joe Mercadante, Edward Modica Jr., Anthony Rupp, Andrew Smith, Alex Briggs, Luiny Monegro, Brock Hallum, Frank Cerillo, Jonathan Sell, Gregory Vaughn Jr., Jonathan Schreier and Zach Pederson will be acknowledged prior to the game.