BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- The LIU Brooklyn softball team (31-16, 12-2 NEC) moved to 9-0 this season at LIU Field with a doubleheader sweep of Central Connecticut State on Friday. The Blackbirds shut out the Blue Devils 5-0 in game one on a two-hitter from freshman Elena Valenzuela, before winning game two, 6-4 to secure the NEC title outright, and the right to host next week's championship.

For head coach Roy Kortmann, it marks the 12th time team in his 25 seasons at the helm the Blackbirds have won the Northeast Conference regular season title. The Blackbirds will now host the NEC Championship for the first time since 2016, when the team last won both the league slate and the postseason tournament.

But first, LIU will close out the conference schedule with a doubleheader against Bryant on Saturday in a 1:00 doubleheader in the Bird Cage.

GAME 1: LIU 5, CCSU 0
Both pitchers were cruising in game one, as neither CCSU's Carley Stoker (7-8) or LIU's Elena Valenzuela (16-3) allowed a baserunner through the first 4.5 innings and the first 22 batters of the game went down in order.

LIU freshman Camryn Lyman broke through in the bottom of the fourth with a double to right center and two batters later sophomore Alina Castillo hit a single to score Lyman for what would be the eventual winning run.

In the next frame, sophomore Kiana Cisneros and classmate Ryleigh Bermea brought her in as the pair led off with back-to-back doubles, to make the game 2-0. Later in the inning, senior Schae Dickson hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score her classmate Amando Domingo from third base to move the score to 4-0. Next up was Castillo, who hit a single up the middle to score junior Katie Hinkle and cap the scoring with a 5-0 lead.

Valenzuela who only allowed runners to reach base in the fifth and six innings, went 7.0 and only allowed two hits and one walk, while striking out two to pick up her league-leading 16th victory, her 14th complete game and her seventh shutout of the season.

GAME 2: LIU 6, CCSU 4
The Blackbirds put up three runs in the first inning and led for the first four frames, before CCSU stormed back for four runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead. But the Blackbirds bounced right back to take the lead with a three-spot and take the victory, 6-3.

Junior Patricia Griffin led off game two for the Blackbirds with a hit and Lyman followed with a bunt single. Griffin would score the first run on a wild pitch and Lyman followed home on a single to center field by Dickson to make the game a 2-0 lead for the home team. A couple of batters later Cisneros drove in Dickson with a single herself, to make it a 3-0 Blackbirds lead.

LIU ran into trouble in the fourth inning, asCCSU hit four straight singles, leading to four Blue Devils runs that put the visitors in the lead, 4-3.

In the bottom of the fifth frame, Lyman, Dickson and Castillo all got singles to load the bases for freshman Samantha Garcia who sent a line drive to left center for a three-run double and put the Blackbirds back on the long side, 6-4.

Junior reliever Tallie Woodson (4-2) came in for the final three innings, yielding only two hits and picking up win number four for the left hander.

BLACKBIRD BITS
The Blackbirds cut down two runners at home in the second game, both on singles to right field. In the first, Griffin threw to her cutoff, Dickson, who threw another strike to catcher Alyssa Martinez. In the third, Griffin charged another single to right field and threw a rope to Martinez, who applied the tag… Lyman was 3-for-4 with two runs scored in game two… Castillo had three hits on the day (two in game one) and extended her hitting streak to 12 games.

NEC NOTABLES
The Blackbirds will wait have to wait out a full NEC schedule on Saturday, as Sacred Heart (9-5 NEC), Saint Francis U. (8-6 NEC) and Bryant (8-6 NEC) all play doubleheaders to determine their playoff fates. Mount St. Mary's (9-7 NEC), who finished up the league slate last week, is the final team in the mix. Three of these four teams will qualify for the NEC's four-team tournament.

The 2019 NEC Championship will be played at LIU, Thursday to Saturday, May 9-11, with the Blackbirds playing the first game on Thursday against the No. 4 seed at in the first game of the day. Stay tuned to LIUAthletics.com for the latest developments throughout the weekend.