Offensive Onslaught Propels Softball to 12-3 Victory over Fairfield at Stony Brook Invitational

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3/24/07 -- Six different Blackbirds recorded multiple hits as the Long Island University softball team set season highs for hits and runs in a 12-3 victory in five innings over Fairfield in the first game of the Stony Brook Invitational on Saturday.

Freshman Raylene Asman (Escondido, Calif.) led the charge with three hits, including a solo home run in a decisive six-run second inning that broke the game open. LIU had 14 hits in the game, bettering its previous season-high mark by one which was set against South Florida.

Long Island scored a pair of runs in the first inning to open the scoring. Junior Celina Castillo (Bay Area, Calif.) connected on an RBI double that scored Brittany Murphy (Los Alamitos, Calif.) for the first run. Castillo then stole third and forced an errant throw by the Stags' catcher that allowed her to score.

In the second, the Blackbirds used a power surge to score the six runs. Senior Randi Gillespie (San Jose, Calif.) hit a two-run double to the left-centerfield gap to double their lead. After a single by Murphy, junior Vanessa Mejia (Roanoke, Va.) smacked a three-run home run the opposite way to push the LIU lead to 7-0.

Asman followed with a shot off the scoreboard in left field that made it an eight-run lead for Long Island. It was the second home run in as many games for the freshman.

After LIU tacked on a run in the bottom half, Fairfield tried to get back into the game in the third. A three-run home run by Cagney Ringnalda made the score 9-3. But LIU would score three of its own in the fourth as Asman and junior Jessie DePippo (Westlake Village, Calif.) each had RBI singles in the frame.

Freshman Blaire Porter (Redmond, Wash.) picked up her fourth victory of the season, striking out six over five innings of work. Jen Gilbert suffered the loss for the Stags.

LIU continues play in the Stony Brook Invitational on Sunday, March 25 as it faces Quinnipiac at 10:30 a.m. then takes on host Stony Brook at 2:30 p.m.