Softball Sweeps ECC Opener Against Mercy; 12-4, 7-2
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Box Score 2
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (March 23, 2013) – The LIU Post softball team opened up 2013 East Coast Conference action with a double header sweep over Mercy College Saturday afternoon at the LIU Post Softball Complex. The Pioneers beat the Mavericks 12-4 in a six-inning game one, followed by a 7-2 victory in game two.
LIU Post improves to 9-4 on the season and 2-0 in conference play, while Mercy slips to 6-7 and 0-2 in ECC play.
Freshman
Paige Swantek (Smithtown, N.Y.) got the Pioneers on the board early in game one with a bases clearing double in the first that scored
Alexis Gonzalez (Hauppauge, N.Y.),
Nicole Hagenah (Coram, N.Y.), and
Aly Dzierzynski (Deer Park, N.Y.). In the second inning, LIU Post tacked on two more runs when Hagenah and Dzierzynski drew back-to-back walks with the bases loaded scoring
Catherine Havens (Eastport, N.Y.) and
Kaci Hopkins (New Egypt, N.J.).
Mercy cut the lead to two with three runs in the third.
In the bottom of the third, the Pioneers added four runs all coming with the bases loaded behind a Havens single, Gonzalez groundout, and Hagenah infield single. Mercy scored one more in the fifth with a Kelly Bentson double to right center that scored Courtney Butler., but the Pioneers closed out the game in the sixth by means of the mercy rule. Freshman
Kelsey McLaughlin (Lido Beach, N.Y.) doubled to right center plating Swantek who led off the inning with a single and pinch runner
Carly Chamberlain (Nesco, N.J.) who came on to run for
Liz Weber (Brightwaters, N.Y.) who singled up the middle. McLaughlin advanced to third on a passed ball, and
Jessica Julich (Kings Park, N.Y.) hit a ball that the shortstop could not come up with scoring McLaughlin for the final run of the game.
Swantek and Weber finished game one two-for-four with three RBI, while McLaughlin added a two-for-three showing with two RBI.
Weber got the win in the circle, allowing just five hits over the six inning span while striking out five.
In game two, Swantek once again got the Pioneer offense started with a single up the middle in the second inning that scored Hagenah. Mercy evened the score in the top half of the third when Bri Panarese scored on a passed ball.
But the LIU Post offense exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fourth behind three hits and two Maverick errors. Freshman
Dana Moss (Howard Beach, N.Y.) scored the first run of the inning when the Mercy shortstop made an error with the bases loaded. Gonzalez followed with a bases-loaded walk to plate Julich. Hagenah then ripped a single down the left field line that scored Havens and Hopkins. Following a Maverick pitching change, Dzierzynski knocked a single that the center fielder mishandled allowing Hagenah and Gonzalez to score.
The Pioneers'
Megan Salcido (Brawley, Calif.) held the Mercy offense scoreless until the top of the seventh when a Brette Therriault crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Salcido registered her third win of the season tossing the complete game four-hitter.
Dzierzynski went two-for-three with two RBI in game two, while Hagenah added a hit and two RBI.
Next on the slate for the Pioneers is a trip on Tuesday, March 26 to New Haven, Conn. for a matchup against Southern Connecticut State University starting at 2:30 p.m.