BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU softball team was home again on Sunday against Bryant in a double header that saw the Sharks drop the first game 9-0 and then take the victory in the second game with a score of 11-7. The Sharks won the series 2-1 after taking game one on Saturday.
SHARK BITES
GAME 1 – BRY 9, LIU 0
- It started out as a battle of the pitchers in the first game. Bryant's Kylie Kenney had 11 strikeouts and earned the shut-out in the first game of the day.
- The Sharks' Alyssa O'Donnell didn't allow a run until the top of the fourth when the Bulldogs scored five off of four hits and three errors.
- The top of the seventh saw a grand slam for the Bulldogs that the Sharks couldn't rally a response to in the bottom of the inning and Bryant leveled the series at one a piece.
- Alyssa O'Donnell got the loss on the mound for the Sharks in the second game of the series.
GAME 2 – LIU 11, BRY 7
- In the rubber match, Bryant was again the first team on the board, scoring three six more runs to lead the Sharks 6-0 in the top of the third. The Sharks would come back through, scoring three in the third and then taking the lead in the fourth to go ahead 9-6 before adding two more in the fifth to lead 11-6. Bryant would take one back in the top of the sixth, but the score would hold 11-7 for the Sharks to claim the series.
- In the top of the second, the Bulldogs would open the scoring by taking three runs off of three hits. They would take three more in the top of the third off of two hits.
- It was in the bottom of the third that for the first time all day the bats connected for the Sharks in a meaningful string. When Angelina Reno doubled to center field, Camryn Lyman, on base from a single, was able to score. Ryleigh Bermea followed this up with a double of her own, knocking in Reno. Bermea would then score from a Kiana Cisneros single to left field. The Sharks trailed 6-3.
- In the fourth, it was Reno's hot bat again that would put LIU level in one swoop. A three-run home run would also score Katie Hinkle and Kristen Blanchard. The game was level at 6-6 midway through the fourth.
- Maya Avila would add two more to the board, getting two RBIs when she pushed Kiana Cisneros and Priscilla Gillies across the plate. The final run of the bottom of the fourth would come when Kristen Blanchard reached on an error and Victoria Zatko crossed the plate to have the Sharks up 9-6.
- The final two runs of the day for the Sharks come in the fifth when Ciara Granado reached first on an error near center field before advancing to second and driving in Bermea. When Cisneros singled, Granado herself crossed the plate. Sharks led 11-6 through five innings.
- In the top of the sixth, Bryant would get one back, earning a run from a single hit to reach the final 11-7 tally for the evening.
- Kira Buckner earned the win on the mound for the Sharks and Zoe Estoppey nabbed the save.
Up next, the Sharks are taking on Army at home in a double header on Saturday, April 9 at 1 p.m.