BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Apr. 14, 2015) - The LIU Post softball team swept East Coast Conference opponent Bridgeport at Seaside Park on Tuesday. The Pioneers won by the scores of 8-4 and 10-2.
Despite taking an early one-run lead in the opener, via a Catherine Havens (Eastport, N.Y.) bases-loaded walk in the top of the first, LIU Post (20-7, 16-1 ECC) trailed 2-1 after the initial frame.
The Pioneers evened things up though in the top of the second. Mackenzie Buckley (St. James, N.Y.) ripped a game-tying, two-out RBI triple that plated Havens.
The green and gold worked their two-out magic again in the third. Kayla McCoy (Smithtown, N.Y.) and Samantha Miller (East Meadow, N.Y.) got back-to-back RBI hits to shoot the visitors in front.
Bridgeport (9-23, 5-13 ECC) managed to cut the deficit to 4-3 in the last of the third, but that was as close as it got. In the top of the fifth, LIU Post put up a three-spot to secure the victory. Aly Dzierzynski (Deer Park, N.Y.) broke the game open with a two-out, two-RBI double to center.
Ashley Martin (Long Beach, N.Y.) commanded the circle for the Pioneers. She tossed a complete game with five strikeouts to improve to a 10-2 record on the 2015 campaign.
The nightcap featured a parade of homers by the green and gold. Miller broke the scoreless stalemate in the top of the third with a two-run shot to left.
One inning later, Maria Palmeri (Middle Village, N.Y.) blasted a solo round-tripper to left to make it a three-run game. Later in the frame, Miller capitalized on an opposing error with a two-RBI double. That widened LIU Post's advantage to 5-0.
The Pioneers continued to pour it on in the fifth. This time, Paige Swantek (Smithtown, N.Y.) drilled a three-run homer to put the contest out of reach.
Megan Salcido (Brawley, Calif.) toed the rubber in her sixth win of the year. She hurled six innings of six-hit, two-run, two-walk, five-strikeout ball.
Head Coach
Jamie Apicella and the Pioneers return to the field Wednesday (Apr. 15), when they play the second game of a previously-postponed doubleheader against St. Thomas Aquinas from Mar. 31. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.