ROCK HILL, S.C. — The LIU baseball season officially is underway!

Newly installed cleanup hitter Carlton Harper went 3-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs and Opening Day starter Alec Huertas had a solid return from Tommy John surgery in a no-decision, although the Sharks fell to host Winthrop, 6-3.

Huertas limited Winthrop to three runs on five hits while issuing no walks in his first collegiate game since May 28, 2021.

Brian O'Boyle also returned from injury, starting at third base and drawing a pair of walks in his comeback from multiple knee ligament tears suffered in his first at-bat of the 2022 season, against Northeastern.

Jake Mastillo in right field, Keniel De Leon at shortstop, JC Navarro at first base and Tucker LeMay at second base all made their Sharks debuts on Friday.

LIU jumped to a 1-0 first-inning lead on Harper's single, which plated Mastillo. The Sharks again grabbed a one-run lead on Connor Price's RBI single in the fourth.

Trailing 3-2, LIU pulled even in the seventh when Harper again drove in Mastillo with a single.

However, Winthrop answered with three runs in the bottom half of the frame, once coach Dan Pirillo turned to his bullpen.

Harper hit .304 (38-for-125) with one homer and 20 RBIs in 42 games last season while exclusively handling DH duties.

"I'm proud of the way the team competed," Pirillo said. "We learning to play together and we will look to continue to get better as group."

The teams continue the three-game series on Saturday at 2 p.m.