WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. — LIU earned an 8-7 walk-off win against CCSU on Sunday afternoon to force a deciding game in the NEC Championship.
 
With the game tied at 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Rivera hit a RBI sacrifice fly to bring home Gavin Sansone with the winning run.
 
Things looked promising for the Sharks early on in this one, with LIU scoring six in the first to jump out to a 6-0 lead. Benjamin Fierenzi proved to be the early spark plug, starting things off with an RBI single. He later scored on a two-run homer by Jack Power, which was followed by run scoring singles from Jarod Wade and Chandler Ketchup, respectively. Fierenzi later walked in the sixth run of the inning with the bases loaded as LIU batted around. This was all part of a 1-for-3 day for the second baseman, complete with two RBI and two walks.
 
An RBI double by Max Samson gave LIU a 7-1 lead in the second. CCSU would continue to chip away at the Sharks' lead as the game continued, eventually scoring three in the ninth to tie things up at seven apiece.
 
But LIU was not to be denied a victory, with Rivera coming up in the clutch with the key at-bat in the bottom of the inning to put the finishing touches on the win.
 
This sets up a winner-take-all deciding game between LIU and CCSU, set to be played on Sunday at 3 p.m.