LIU baseball advances to NEC championship round

On Saturday, history was made.

The top-seeded LIU baseball team defeated No. 2 Bryant, 6-4, in the Northeast Conference Tournament semifinals at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut, in 13 innings, the longest postseason game in NEC history.

LIU advanced to the championship, against Bryant again, on Carlton Harper's winning two-run single in the top of the 13th and on the arm of NEC pitcher of the year Joshua Loeschorn, who earned the save after striking out NEC player of the year Matt Woods to end the game with the tying runs on base.

“I told [associate] coach [Tom] Carty today, ‘If you need an inning out of me today, I’ve got it,’” Loeschorn said.

This performance comes on the heels of Loeschorn dealing 121 pitches Thursday in LIU’s win over Fairleigh Dickinson in the opening round.

With the game resuming in the top of the 11th after rain and fog forced a suspension Friday night, LIU received big performances from Harper and Christopher Hund, who smacked two home runs in the game, including a solo shot in the 12th.

“That was one of the craziest games I’ve been part of, especially as a head coach,” head coach Dan Pirillo said

Shane Tucker came on relief in the bottom of the 12th and kept LIU afloat with a pair of crucial strikeouts with the bases loaded and yielded to teammate Loeschorn to close the deal after a walk in the 13th.

“Tuck gave us everything,” Loeschorn said. “There wouldn’t have been the [13th] inning if it wasn’t  for him.”

Now LIU will again face No. 2 seed Bryant at noon Sunday. The Sharks (36-18) need only to win once to take the NEC crown and move on to the NCAA Tournament. It would be LIU’s third Division I NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.

Bryant, which scored four runs in the ninth to beat Central Connecticut, 10-8, later Saturday night, will need to beat LIU twice to take the conference title.