HACKENSACK, N.J. – Senior Serena Meehan scored after stealing third base in the bottom of the sixth inning and junior Erica Johnson pitched a complete game as the Fairleigh Dickinson softball team defeated LIU Brooklyn, 2-1, to earn a split of a doubleheader Sunday afternoon.
 
The Knights (9-26, 2-4 NEC) took a 1-0 lead early in the game on a Reanna Cervantes RBI single, but the Blackbirds (21-13, 3-1 NEC) scored in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game. Meehan then in the sixth inning doubled to lead off the frame, and she stole third with the catcher throwing behind her toward second. The ball sailed into center field, allowing Meehan to come around and score to give the Knights the lead.
 
Johnson then got the first out in LIU's final turn at-bat, but back-to-back singles then put runners on first and second with one out. Johnson, however, forced the next batter to pop up to Summer Mendoza in front of the second base bag, and the next batter lofted a fly ball to left field that freshman Courtney Mahoney chased down to end the game.
 
The Knights dropped the first game of the doubleheader to the Blackbirds, 3-1, with both teams recording five hits in the game. LIU scored the first two runs to lead 2-0, but sophomore Logan Kolehmainen cut the deficit to 2-1 with an infield single and a RBI that scored freshman Riley De Laval. The Blackbirds, however, added an insurance run in the seventh inning as the Knights managed only one more baserunner in the last two innings.
 
Johnson in earning her third win of the season struck out two batters while allowing eight hits and one walk. Sophomore Abby England suffered the loss in the first game, going six innings while allowing only four hits and one earned run to go with three strikeouts.
 
Cervantes, Kolehmainen, Mahoney and freshman Amarys Miller-Godsey collected hits in each game of the doubleheader. Cervantes doubled in the first game, her 36th of her career, and she also collected her 76th career RBI with her run-scoring single in the second game. Miller-Godsey also hit a double in the second game, her fifth of the season.
 
In the first game, the Knights threatened in the first inning with Cervantes doubling down the left field line with a runner on first that put both runners in scoring position. LIU Brooklyn, however, got the next batter out to end the inning and then loaded the bases in the next half inning on two hits and a hit-by-pitch. England, however, limited the damage to just one run in that inning, but the Blackbirds added another run in the third on a RBI single to make it 2-0.
 
The Knights then rallied in the bottom half of the fifth with Miller-Godsey singling through the left side and De Laval walked to put runners on first and second. Freshman Samantha Cortez moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt, and two batters later, Kolehmainen dribbled an infield single to third that allowed De Lavel to score and make it 2-1.
 
LIU, however, shut down the Knights the rest of the way and added a run with an Alina Castillo RBI double. Cortez reached base in the seventh with a single to left with two outs, but Elena Valenzuela induced a fly-ball out to end the game and record her 11th win of the season.
 
FDU got the offense going early in the later game, with sophomore Rylie Schmeh singling to right followed by a Mahoney single to put runners on the corners. Cervantes then drilled a ground ball up the middle for a base hit to score Schmeh and give the Knights the early advantage.
 
Johnson limited LIU to just two hits through her first four innings but ran into trouble in the fifth inning after back-to-back singles and an error loaded the bases with two outs. Shae Dickson then hit a ground ball to Meehan at third and beat out the throw to allow a run to score and tie the game.
 
Johnson retired the next batter to escape without further damage, and the score remained tied heading into the bottom of the sixth. Meehan then hit a long ball that bounced up against the fence and gave the senior her third double of the season. She then created her own opportunity to score by stealing third, and the attempted throw behind her at second was misplayed, causing the ball to go into center and allowing Meehan to wheel around third and score to make it 2-1 in favor of the Knights.
 
FDU next plays two mid-week home doubleheaders, taking on Coppin State on Tuesday starting at 2 p.m., and then facing Iona on Thursday beginning at 3 p.m. The games against Coppin State will also coincide with the FDU Scholar-Athlete Ice Cream Social and the Office of Student Affairs hosting "The Big Game", a student tailgate and celebration, at the FDU Softball Field.