Long Ball Propels No. 22 Softball to Sweep of Queens; 6-4, 6-1
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 FLUSHING, N.Y. (Apr. 5, 2014) - Despite falling behind 4-0 early on in Game One, the No. 22 LIU Post softball team completed a sweep of Queens on Saturday in Flushing, N.Y. The Pioneers battled back to win the opener, 6-4, and then came away with a 6-1 victory in the nightcap.
After sitting the green and gold (21-3, 8-0 ECC) down in order in the top of the first inning of Game One, the Knights (19-11, 7-5 ECC) exploded for four runs in the bottom of the frame. Senior shortstop
Nicole Hagenah (Commack, N.Y.) made a great diving catch and doubled off the runner from first to give senior hurler
Liz Weber (Brightwaters, N.Y.) two outs and no one on, but the Knights strung together five straight hits, including a two-run homerun by Kayla Morrissey to plate four runs in the inning.
The visitors answered back in the top of the second, though, with three runs of their own. With two outs and the bases loaded, Weber reached on a throwing error by the shortstop that allowed sophomore designated player
Paige Swantek (Smithtown, N.Y.) and junior catcher
Aly Dzierzynski (Deer Park, N.Y.) to cross the plate. In the very next at-bat, junior left fielder
Catherine Havens (Eastport, N.Y.) singled to the pitcher, allowing sophomore third baseman
Maria Palmeri (Middle Village, N.Y.) to come home and pull the Pioneers' within one of Queens (4-3).
Neither side would score again until LIU Post struck for two runs in the fourth inning. Weber blasted a two-run home run to dead center after freshman second baseman
Melissa Peet (Monroe, Conn.) led off the inning with a walk to give her squad a 5-4 lead.
The Pioneers added an insurance run in the next frame when Peet drew a one-out walk with the bases loaded, forcing home Hagenah.
Weber improved to 11-1 in the circle, tossing the first three innings of play. Freshman
Ashley Martin (Long Beach, N.Y.) closed out the game, scattering three hits and one walk over the final four innings. She also struck out three.
Isabelle Yaroch (9-6) was tabbed with the loss as she threw four innings, surrendering six runs on three hits and six walks. Monique Roberge finished the contest, also allowing three hits while walking two.
Game Two was a different story as the first three innings were quite the pitchers' duel by Pioneer
Megan Salcido (Brawley, Calif.) and Roberge as neither side conceded a run. That all changed in the top of the fourth when Swantek led off with a home run to left-center to end the shutout.
In the next inning, freshman first baseman
Kayla McCoy (Smithtown, N.Y.) matched Swantek with a solo shot to center for the first of her career.
The Pioneers were not done as they added four runs on two outs in the seventh inning. A Knights' error allowed Peet to score from third on a McCoy ground ball. Then, senior center fielder
Alexis Gonzalez (Hauppauge, N.Y.) and Hagenah drilled back-to-back homers to bring home another three runs for visitors, extending LIU Post's lead to 6-0.
Queens mustered a run in the bottom of the seventh, but with runners on first and second with two outs, Salcido induced a ground ball to
Dana Moss (Howard Beach, N.Y.) at third who tagged her bag to secure the sweep.
Salcido earned the win on the rubber, pitching a complete game.She allowed one unearned run on seven hits and two walks while fanning five. Roberge dropped to 10-2 with the loss as she let up six runs (two earned) on seven hits and four walks in six and two-thirds innings of work.
Gonzalez and Hagenah each finished the nightcap with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate, while each scoring a run. Dzierzynski, Swantek, and McCoy had the other three hits in the game.
The Pioneers will return home on Tuesday (Apr. 8) for a 'Battle of the Boulevard' match-up against NYIT at the LIU Post Softball Complex. The twinbill is set to start at 3 p.m.