Box Score
Tampa, Fla. - Senior
Blaire Porter notched a season-high nine strikeouts as the Long Island University softball team defeated Dartmouth, 3-0, on Thursday in Tampa, Fla. Junior
Bianca Mejia clubbed two doubles and senior
Mariesha Marker knocked in two runs as the Blackbirds won their second straight and improved to 9-10 on the year.
Porter was dominant the entire contest, sending down a Dartmouth batter in every inning. Dartmouth mounted its only rally in the fourth when it placed runners on second and third with one out. The Redmond, Wash., struck out the next batter and then induced a ground out to escape the jam unscathed.
The Blackbirds took control of the contest in the top of the fifth starting with a single from freshman
Karina Cervantes. A Dartmouth error made put runners on first and second for LIU before sophomore
Sterling Hoham put down a bunt to place the runners into scoring position. Both runs would cross the plate when Marker scorched a line-drive to the wall for a double. LIU’s third and final run of the frame came when senior
Raylene Asman singled to plate Marker.
Porter went into the sixth inning holding a no-hitter but it was broken up by a grounder through the middle of the infield. Once Long Island took the lead, Porter retired nine of the next 10 batters to easily hold on to the victory.
The Blackbirds outhit the Big Green six to two and both teams left only three runners on base. Long Island returns to action on Friday at the USF-The Game Tournament in Clearwater, Fla., when it squares off against Ohio State at 1:00 p.m. and Texas Tech at 4:00 p.m.