Brooklyn, N.Y. (April 21, 2013)--Mount St. Mary's had the tying run on second base in the ninth inning, but the rally fell short in a 7-6 loss at LIU Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon.

Trailing 7-5 heading into the ninth, Nick Walker led off with a base hit.  He moved to second on a groudout, and Zane Bard's single put runners on the corners with one out.  Mo Moriarty pinch hit, and came through with an RBI single that scored Walker and moved Bard to second.  LIU pitcher Evan Zerff was able to escape the jam when Brandon Scott flew out to right field and Jay Knight struck out to end the game.

The Mount (7-25, 2-14 NEC) grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Andrew Clow singled home Walker, who doubled, in the top of the second inning.

The Blackbirds (14-22, 10-6 NEC) responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead.  Jesse Brown had an RBI double and Pete Leonello an RBI single in the inning.

The Mount answered with three runs in the third to regain the lead, 4-2.  Knight led the inning off with a walk, and he then stole second base.  Mark Quaranta followed with a two-run homer to put the Mountaineers ahead, 3-2.  Tom Healy doubled, and Walker's single plated Healy to push the advantage to 4-2.

Chris Untereiner got a run back for LIU with a solo home run in the sixth, but the Mount got the run back in the top of the seventh when Bard moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error by the catcher.

LIU took the lead with in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs to take a 6-5 lead.  Mount reliever Buddy Fields struck out the first two batters in the inning, but Leonello started the rally by drawing a walk.  Keith DeMarco was hit by a pitch, and John Ziznewski singled to score Leonello to cut the Mount's lead to 5-4.  The runners moved up on a wild pitch, and Kevin Needham walked to load the bases.

Michael Locondro was summoned from the bullpen, but Mike Garcia greeted him with a two-run single to put LIU ahead, 6-5.  The Blackbirds added an insurance run in the eighth when Ziznewski walked with the bases loaded.

Walker went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to pace the Mount in the game while Bard was 2-for-3 at the plate.

Starting pitcher Vincent Molesky struck out five while allowing two runs (one earned) in four innings.  The Mount used seven pitchers in the game.

The Mount returns to action on Wednesday when they visit Penn State for a 6:05 p.m. game.