Baseball Splits With STAC; 4-2, 5-2
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Apr. 12, 2014) - The LIU Post baseball team came away with a split of Saturday's East Coast Conference doubleheader against St. Thomas Aquinas at the LIU Post Baseball Field in Brookville, N.Y. The Pioneers took the opener 4-2, before dropping the nightcap, 5-2.
The Pioneers (11-10, 5-5 ECC) jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the third. After freshman
Kyle Fagan (Wantagh, N.Y.) led off with a single, he stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Junior
Rick Alessi (St. James, N.Y.) then walked and stole second, setting the table for senior
Tom Tolan (Malverne, N.Y.). The righty grounded out to second, but Fagan came home to give the hosts a 1-0 edge. Senior
Vinny Iacono (Nesconset, N.Y.) followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Alessi.
In the fourth, with runners on the corners, freshman
Brian Tinney (Farmingdale, N.Y.) took off for second just as St. Thomas Aquinas' pitcher Robert Naughton was trying the old "fake to third, throw to first." Tinney slid in safely at second as junior
Anthony Brunetti (Bayville, N.Y.) was able to scamper home with the Pioneers' third run.
Later, in the fifth, it was Iacono again, this time driving Alessi to give LIU Post a 4-0 edge.
The Spartans (20-11, 9-5 ECC) pushed across runs in the sixth and seventh, but junior
Joey Arena (Yorktown, N.Y.) would not be denied his first win of the season. The lefty tossed 8.1 innings, scattered seven hits and allowed two earned runs. Freshman
Jake DeCarli (Higganum, Conn.) got the final two outs to lock down his first save.
In the second game, red-shirt junior
Mike Eckerle (Hewlett, N.Y.) allowed two runs in the fifth before the Pioneers responded with a pair of their own in the sixth.
Once again, it was Iacono getting the green and gold on the board. The senior doubled down the left-field line, scoring Alessi. Junior
Angel Vidal (Sheepshead Bay, N.Y.) drove in Tolan with a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
However, St. Thomas Aquinas answered with a three-spot in the top of the seventh as Eckerle was dealt his first lost of the 2014 campaign.
The Pioneers and Spartans wrap up their four-game set with an afternoon matinee at Provident Bank Park in Pomona, N.Y. on Sunday (Apr. 13). First pitch is set for 1 p.m.