#1 Bulldogs take down #4 LIU Brooklyn, 7-4, Thursday in Day 1 of NEC Tournament

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Behind a three-run sixth inning, the Bryant University softball team took down #4 LIU Brooklyn, 7-4, Thursday afternoon on Day 1 of the Northeast Conference Tournament.

Sophomore pitcher Elle Madsen (Wheat Ridge, Colo.) threw seven solid innings to earn her 23rd victory of the 2014 season, while senior Aubrey Mable (Aurora, Colo.) went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to help the Bulldogs (30-20) earn their first-ever Division I postseason victory.

After a pair of scoreless innings on both sides, the Black and Gold struck first in the bottom of the third when senior outfielder Kristen Carter (Branchville, N.J.) crossed the plate thanks to some nifty baserunning following a Kendall Corder (Carmichael, Calif.) infield single.

"You could tell, especially at the plate, that a lot of the girls were trying to overcome their excitement early on," said head coach Shayne Lotito. "But as the game progressed, they were able to channel their emotion and we started having higher quality at bats."

In the top of the fourth LIU's Ariana Lopez picked up the Blackbird's second hit of the day, singling down the left field line, setting up Jazmine Rodriguez who took Madsen deep down line in left field to put the visitors up, 2-1. Bryant, however, evened the score in the bottom half of the inning when freshman Taylor Burger (Killingworth, Conn.) drew a bases loaded walk to score junior center fielder Madeline Velasquez (Los Angeles, Calif.).

The back and forth continued in the top of the fifth when Alyssa Gospodarek put LIU back in front, 3-2, with a leadoff homerun down the right field line. In the bottom half, Mable got things started with a two-out double to left center. Next up, Velasquez reached on an infield error, which sent Mable to third base, but a LIU miscue and heads up baserunning allowed Mable to score, tying the game, 3-3. After a wild pitch advanced Velasquez to third, Madsen helped herself by lacing an RBI single through the left side to score Velasquez and put Bryant up, 4-3.

In the top of the sixth, the Blackbirds again tied the score, 4-4, thanks to a Gospodarek single to right field. However, in the bottom half of the inning, the Bulldogs took advantage of LIU's control issues, earning four walks leading to a trio of runs which put the Black and Gold up, 7-4, after six.

In the seventh, Madsen shut down the final three Blackbird batters to secure Bryant's 30 victory of the season.

"Once we settle down we were able to start playing our game again," added Lotito. "Kristen [Carter] had some great heads up baserunning to score the first run, Aubrey [Mable] had a clutch hit to get things started in the fifth, and Elle [Madsen] just got the job done, keeping it close against a very talented and experienced LIU team."

With the victory, the Bulldogs will play in the first game of Day 2 of the NEC Tournament, Friday at 10:30 a.m. vs. #2 Central Connecticut, who defeated #3 Fairleigh Dickinson, 3-0, Thursday afternoon.

"We know exactly what to expect on Friday," said Lotito. "We're going to look to take advantage of balls in the zone and continue to play our game defensively."

Earlier this season in Smithfield, the Bulldogs and Blue Devils split a pair of highly competitive games, with CCSU taking Game 1, 10-2, before Bryant came back to take the second leg, 7-2.

For links to Live Stats and streaming video of Friday's action and all the latest news on the Bryant University softball team, visit BryantBulldogs.com.

Friday Schedule

Game 1: 10:30 am - #2 Central Connecticut vs. #1 Bryant

Game 2: 1:00 pm - #4 LIU Brooklyn vs. #3 Fairleigh Dickinson

Game 3: 3:30 pm – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Winner