LONGWOOD, Fla. – The LIU softball team swept their Spring Game opponents Thursday, beating Northern Kentucky, 3-0 and Niagara, 7-5. With the wins, the Sharks move to 14-12 on the season.
LIU vs. NKU
In the game against the Norse, the Sharks got on the board in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, junior
Kiana Cisneros walked, and she came home on the next play, when sophomore
Camryn Lyman hit a double to make it 1-0. A sacrifice fly by sophomore
Kelsey Day scored Lyman, and the Sharks led, 2-0.
LIU added a run in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, senior
Patricia Griffin singled through the left side. Sophomore
Samantha Garcia doubled to left field to bring her home, making it 3-0 Sharks.
Sophomore
Elena Valenzuela pitched the complete game shutout. She pitched 7.0 innings, holding NKU to just three hits, while striking out four.
LIU vs. Niagara
In the second game, the Sharks staved off a late game rally to beat the Purple Eagles, 7-5. LIU got on the board in the first inning. Junior
Alina Castillo had a leadoff single to center field. Then, with two outs, Cisneros singled to put two on. And junior
Ciara Granado brought them both home with her home run over the left field fence that put LIU on top, 3-0.
The Purple Eagles scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning, but LIU would distance themselves in the top of the fourth. Day had a double to left field, and junior
Ryleigh Bermea had a single that put runners on the corner. Senior
Katie Hinkle had a bunt single to load the bases, and Castillo brought two runners home with a long single to center field. On the next at bat, Griffin reached on a fielder's choice, and the Sharks scored on a throwing error to make it 6-2. LIU would add one more run, on Garcia's sacrifice fly, and the Sharks ended the inning with a 7-2 advantage.
Niagara would score three runs in the bottom of the seventh with two outs, but the Sharks were able to get the final out, and they took the win over the Eagles, 7-5.
Valenzuela pitched 4.1 innings of relief against Niagara to earn the win and improve to 7-8 on the season.
