No. 12 Softball Drops Two on Opening Day at Rebel Spring Games
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WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (Mar. 9, 2014) - On Sunday, the 12th-ranked LIU Post softball team opened the 2014 season at the Rebel Spring Games in Winter Haven, Fla. with two closely fought losses to No. 14 Wayne State and Minnesota State-Mankato.
Both contests were quite the pitchers' duels. There were a mere nine hits combined in the opener, and just eight in the nightcap. Wayne State (11-2) took the first game by a 1-0 final, while Minnesota State-Mankato (5-4) and the Pioneers (0-2) headed to the eighth in order to decide the Mavericks' 3-0 victory.
After the Warriors' (11-2) Briana Lee struck out the side in the top of the first of Game One, her squad came back with an unearned run in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Lyndsay Butler singled to left field and shortly thereafter, stole second. Emily Bryce followed with a single to right-center that plated Butler for the game's only run.
The Pioneers' best scoring opportunity came in the top of the sixth as freshman second baseman
Melissa Peet (Monroe, Conn.) led off with a single to center following a 10-pitch battle at the plate. Classmate
Kayla McCoy (Smithtown, N.Y.) laid down a sacrifice bunt to move pinch runner
Jessica Julich (Kings Park, N.Y.) to second. Senior hurler
Liz Weber (Brightwaters, N.Y.) tacked on a single to right-center to give the Pioneers first and third with one out, but Wayne State brought in Butler from right field to close out the game. After pinch runner
Carly Chamberlain (Nesco, N.J.) stole second, she induced two groundouts to end the threat.
Senior shortstop
Nicole Hagenah (Commack, N.Y.) led the Pioneers with a 2-for-3 showing, while Peet went 1-for-1 with a walk in her collegiate debut.
In Weber's six-inning outing, she let up five hits and one run, while striking out two.
Junior
Megan Salcido (Brawley, Calif.) and the Mavericks' Coley Ries kept Game Two scoreless through the first seven innings. Salcido gave up just one hit, three walks, and one unearned run, while striking out three in seven innings.
With the international tie-breaker rule in place in the eighth inning (last batted out of the seventh inning gets placed on second base to start off each additional inning played), the Mavericks brought home three runs with Pioneer relief pitcher
Quincy Lewis (Corning, N.Y.) in the circle. Minnesota State swatted four of its five hits in the frame to secure the win.
Ries earned her second victory of the year, tossing eight innings of three-hit, one-walk, 10-strikeout ball.
The three hits came off the bats of junior right fielder
Samantha Miller (East Meadow, N.Y.), Hagenah, and junior catcher
Aly Dzierzynski (Deer Park, N.Y.).
The Pioneers are back in action Monday (Mar. 10) at the Rebel Spring Games at 9 and 11 a.m. against Northern St. and Hillsdale at the Auburndale Softball Complex in Winter Haven, Fla.