NORWICH, Conn. — The LIU baseball team is one victory from winning the Northeast Conference Tournament.
Carlton Harper delivered a two-run single in the top of the 13th inning and
Joshua Loeschorn earned the save in a battle against the NEC Player of the Year to send top-seeded LIU to the championship round with a 6-4 victory over Bryant on Saturday.
The game had been suspended amid rain and then fog on Friday night at Dodd Stadium with LIU batting with two out in the top of the 11th and the bases loaded.
That opportunity went for naught when the game resumed, but LIU eventually won two innings later.
Coach
Dan Pirillo left nothing to chance after Bryant twice had pulled even in its last frame at the plate earlier in the game. He summoned Loeschorn, the NEC Pitcher of the Year, after the leadoff runner reached in the bottom of the 13th. Loeschorn had thrown 121 pitches in Thursday's NEC tourney-opening win against Fairleigh Dickinson.
Loeschorn struck out NEC Player of the Year Matt Woods to end the game with the tying runs on base.
It was the longest postseason game in NEC history.
"I told Coach Carty today, 'If you need an inning out of me today, I've got it,'" Loeschorn said. "I worked hard all year — all four of these years — to make sure my body bounces back when I pitch. I felt when I was pitching today like I didn't throw 120 pitches two days ago. When he asked if I wanted the ball, I said, 'Yeah.'"
Said Pirillo: "I didn't think of it until Josh came to us and said, 'I'm ready to go today, coach. I've got an inning for you.' We were thinking about maybe using him Sunday. But with the game on the line and possibly the tournament on the line today, and we were running out of pitching, he was up for it 100 percent. There was no doubt in his mind. That made feel a little better about putting him in. And then once he's ready to pitch, there's no doubt I'll put him in the game."
Freshman
Christopher Hund's second homer of a game that spanned two days — a solo shot in the top of the 12th — had put LIU in position to win in that inning.
But Bryant, which had forced extra innings with two runs in the bottom of the ninth on Friday, again pulled even in the bottom half.
Shane Tucker kept the Sharks alive, though. He entered in relief and recorded a pair of huge strikeouts with the bases loaded to send the game to the 13th.
"I've been working on that all year. I've been working to the spot I am today," Tucker said. "Every pitch matters — every rep that I took to make sure I did exactly what I wanted to in those two at-bats."
Said Loeschorn: "Tuck gave us everything. There wouldn't have been the [13th] inning if it wasn't for him."
Three of Hund's four collegiate homers this season have come against Bryant, including a two-run shot that opened the game's scoring on Friday.
On Sunday, LIU will again face second-seeded Bryant, which ousted third-seeded Central Connecticut State later Saturday. The Sharks will need only one win, while the Bulldogs would have to win twice for an NCAA tourney slot.
LIU (36-18) is bidding for the third Division I NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and the second in Pirillo's six seasons at the helm.
"That was one of the craziest games I've been part of, especially as a head coach," Pirillo said. "We had some big moments on the mound where we made some absolutely huge pitches with 3-2 counts. With the bases loaded, Tucker did a great job. And then every time we scored, they answered, and we answered right back. It was blow for blow with two really good teams. It was great to be on the winning side of it, but it was a really well-played game on both sides."
