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Brooklyn, NY - Robert Morris' magical ride finally came to an end at the hand of LIU Brooklyn.

The Colonials left the tying run on base in the seventh inning as the top-seeded LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds held on for a 3-2 win in Game 7 of the NEC Softball Tournament on Saturday afternoon in the BirdCage.

The victory gave LIU Brooklyn an unprecedented 14th conference crown. Robert Morris, which won three conseuctive tournament games following Thursday's loss to Saint Francis U, was taking aim at a seventh NEC title.

RMU’s Kaitlin Ellzy and LIU’s Tallie Woodson, a pair of freshmen, were locked in a scoreless duel through five innings until the top-seeded Blackbirds finally broke through with a three-run sixth.

Ellzy retired 15 of 16 batters faced to complete five scoreless frames before LIU’s offense victimized the rookie pitcher with a series of paper cuts.

 Karlie Brady and Whitney West started the small-ball rally by leading off the sixth inning with back-to-back bunt singles for the Blackbirds. Then, with runners on first and second and no one out, Ariana Lopez poked a base hit through the right side to plate the game’s first run.

West later doubled the Blackbirds’ lead by scoring on a wild pitch before Lopez made it 3-0 in favor of LIU when she scored on a sac fly. Lopez, who was one of three Blackbirds to garner All-Tournament Team honors, went 2-for-3 at the plate to account for half of the team’s total hits.

Woodson promptly retired the first two Colonials she faced in the seventh, but Olivia Lorusso and Abrielle McCartney followed with back-to-back doubles to spark a RMU rally. After Lorusso crossed the plate with the Colonials’ first run, LIU manager Roy Kortmann opted for Erynn Sobieski out of the bullpen.

Sobieski gave up a run-scoring single to the first batter she faced before inducing a game-ending championship-clinching groundout to shortstop. Closing out the 3-2 victory, the NEC Pitcher of the Year earned the one-out save to complete a remarkable tournament run.

Sobieski totaled 21.1 innings over four appearances at the three-day event. Walking no one, the NEC Tournament MVP pitched to an 0.84 WHIP while registering two wins and one save.

Woodson earned the win in the title tilt, completing 6.2 innings before handing the ball to Sobieski.

Robert Morris battled out of the losers’ bracket to reach Championship Saturday. The Colonials’ run started with a 3-1 victory over Bryant on Friday afternoon and continued late into the night. RMU outlasted Keystone State rival SFU in a 15-inning affair that ended after 11:00 pm ET.

The Colonials came into Saturday needing to defeat LIU Brooklyn twice. They succeeded on their first try, posting a 3-1 victory to force a winner-take-all Game 7.

All-Tournament Team
Elle Madsen-Bryant
Ethel Santai-Saint Francis U
Madison Cabell-Saint Francis U
Abrielle McCartney- Robert Morris
Olivia Lorusso- Robert Morris
Laura Coulter- Robert Morris
Whitney West- LIU Brooklyn
Kylie Mulholland- LIU Brooklyn
Erynn Sobieski- Tournament MVP


GAME 6
#3 Robert Morris 3, #1 LIU Brooklyn 1

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Robert Morris played 22 innings of softball on Friday to guarantee itself at least seven more frames on Championship Saturday.

The lone challenger left standing, RMU used a two-run seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie and top previously-unbeaten LIU Brooklyn in Game 6 of the NEC Softball Tournament.

Kaitlin Ellzy pitched a scoreless bottom half of the seventh to nail down a 3-1 victory and extend the Colonials’ NEC Tournament stay by at least another seven innings.


2016 NEC Softball Championship
Hosted by LIU Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY

Thursday, May 12

G1: #2 Saint Francis U 7, #3 Robert Morris 0 - BOX
G2: #1 LIU Brooklyn 4, #4 Bryant, 3 - BOX

Friday, May 13

G3: #1 LIU Brooklyn 5, #2 Saint Francis U 4 - BOX
G4: #3 Robert Morris 3, #4 Bryant 1 - BOX
G5: #3 Robert Morris 5, #2 Saint Francis U 4 (15 innings) - BOX

Saturday, May 14

G6: #3 Robert Morris 3, #1 LIU Brooklyn 1 - BOX
G7: #1 LIU Brooklyn 3, #3 Robert Morris 2 - BOX