BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The Sacred Heart baseball team took an early lead in the second inning of game one but would go on to fall 2-12 and 0-4 to LIU Brooklyn in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Harbor Yard.

Victor Sorrento and Jake Friar each had a 3-3 game on the day, as the Pioneers head into their final game of the regular season 28-26 overall and 17-13 in league play, which has assured them of the two seed in next weekend's Northeast Conference Tournament. 

The two teams wrap up regular season play tomorrow at 1 pm. Prior to the first pitch, SHU will seniors Sorrento, Jayson Sullivan, Jesus Medina, Mike Lembo, Connor Landers and manager Scott Plank.

Game One

Sacred Heart actually took an early lead in game one, erasing an unearned run in the top of the second with PJ DeFilippo's two-RBI single in the bottom half. Sorrento led the inning off with a double on the first pitch he saw, and following a strikeout, Dan Schock roped a double down the third base line to give the Pioneers and DeFilippo runners on second and third with one away. 

LIU Brooklyn (19-34, 13-16) came back to tie it in the third before breaking it open with four more in the fourth. Friar threw out a runner trying to steal second for the second out of the third before a hit by pitch extended the frame. Consecutive wild pitches would then came back to hurt SHU starter Jeff Stoddard, as Harrison Preschel evened the score at 2-2 with a two-out single to center.

Sorrento tripled, his NEC-leading sixth of the season, with two outs in the bottom half but was stranded, and that seemed to spark LIU going into the top of the fourth. Four of the first five Blackbirds to come to the plate recorded a hit, beginning with Andrew Turner's single up the middle. Luis Rios attempted to sacrifice him over but instead beat out the throw to set up yet another sacrifice bunt opportunity for Joe Mercadante, who executed. Charles Misiano delivered the go-ahead base knock with a single to right field to make the score 3-2.

Brian Lamboy continued the offensive surge with a double down the first baseline, plating yet another run and ending Stoddard's day. Jason Foley came on to strike out the next batter, but the play that really broke open the game was Tommy Jakubowski's infield single. He narrowly beat out a throw to first, and instead of scoring just one, it instead brought in two when LIU decided to send the runner from second, a move that paid off when there was an errant throw home. 

SHU got runners into scoring position in both the fourth and fifth but strikeouts by starter Cory Hart allowed LIU Brooklyn to really seal the game with four more runs in the sixth. Again the Blackbirds had five hits in the inning, with Lamboy, Jakubowski and Preschel all singling to load the bases. Andy Camilo had the big base knock, a two-RBI double down the right field line, before Turner added a sacrifice fly and Mercadante added an RBI double of his own.  Luis Arias belted a two-run homer in the seventh to put an exclamation point on the day.

All told, LIU had 18 base knocks in the contest, with four Blackbirds recording multiple hits led by Lamboy's 4-5, three run, and one RBI performance. Preschel was 3-4 with two runs and an RBI and Jakubowski and Turner each added two hits apiece.

After giving up the two runs in the second, Hart kept SHU scoreless through his final five innings en route to a complete game.  He struck out 11 against just six hits and two walks.

Stoddard took the loss as he went the first 3.1 innings and allowed four earned runs on seven hits. Foley also surrendered four runs on seven hits in his 2.2 frames, despite striking out five. In his third career collegiate appearance, John Cerretani settled down after giving up the home run in the seventh by striking out the side.

Game Two

In a much tighter contest, again it was LIU Brooklyn striking first and that turned out to be all Andrew Rupp would need. Preschel made sure Lamboy's leadoff double did not go to waste, as came through with a two-out RBI single to centerfield to put the Blackbirds on top in the top of the first. Rupp would take over from there, scattering six hits in the complete game shutout. 

The shutout nearly never was though, as Ted Shaw led off the bottom half with a single, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. It looked he would get to go home when Keith Klebart stung a ball in the next at bat, however third baseman Turner snagged the line drive and carried his momentum right over to third where he would tag the bag for a double play.

Turner then led off the top of the second with a double to the left centerfield gap on a 0-2 pitch, igniting LIU to a two-run second. Mercadante followed a strikeout with a single to put runners on first and third, and the Blackbirds would decide to attempt a squeeze. Misiano laid bunt down and instead of taking the out, SHU instead elected to try and throw Turner out at home. Instead, an errant throw allowed Mercadante and Misiano to both move up, which proved costly when Lamboy's fly ball in the next at bat permitted Mercandante to come in and make the score 3-0.

Rupp and Sacred Heart starter James Cooksey would dual through three and a half scoreless innings before LIU Brooklyn would finally add one more run in the sixth when Jakubowski, Preschel and Dom Paiotti led off the frame with back-to-back-to-back singles.

That was the second base knock of the nightcap for Preschel, who joined Turner with his second multi-hit performance of the afternoon.

For SHU, this time it was Friar going 3-3 at the plate. Sorrento also reached base multiple times yet again, finishing 1-2 with a hit by pitch.

Cooksey did provide a quality start, allowing three earned runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out three and did not walk a batter. Alex Perry came on to pitch a hitless seventh.