Long Shines as Baseball Splits with Queens

4/25/2015 10:49:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

FLUSHING, N.Y. (Apr. 25, 2015) - On Saturday, the LIU Post baseball team got a stellar outing from sophomore pitcher James Long (Oceanside, N.Y.) as the Pioneers split an East Coast Conference doubleheader with Queens in Flushing.

Coming off his best start of the season in his last outing, Long out-did himself, as the tall lefty tossed a complete-game, four-hit shutout as LIU Post (17-13, 14-9) took the opener, 6-0.

The green and gold didn't waste much time giving Long some run support. In the top of the second, junior first baseman David Groeneveld (Centereach, N.Y.) led off with one of his three hits in the opener. Sophomore catcher Thomas Asbaty (Randolph, N.J.) followed with an RBI double, putting the Pioneers on the board.

That would be all Long needed, but the Pioneers didn't stop there. In the fourth, it was Groeneveld driving in sophomore outfielder Kenny Daley (Glenwood Landing, N.Y.) with a double of his own, making it 2-0. Later in the inning, after a balk put runners at second and third, senior shortstop Rick Alessi (St. James, N.Y.) singled, scoring Asbaty, giving LIU Post a 3-0 edge.

The next inning, red-shirt senior third baseman Tom Tolan (Malverne, N.Y.) led off with a single, and graduate outfielder Vinny Iacono (Nesconset, N.Y.) followed with a single. The Knights' (9-21, 5-14 ECC) fell victim to some sloppy defense, as an error allowed Tolan to come around to score and Iacono to reach third. Daley would follow with a sacrifice fly, scoring Iacono, giving the Pioneers a 5-0 cushion after five.

Then, in the ninth, with runners on the corners and two outs, Asbaty singled home Iacono, making it 6-0.

Long would finish with a season-high eight strikeouts in his first complete-game shutout. Groeneveld and Asbaty both finished 3-for-5 with Asbaty driving in two runs as well.

In the night cap, the Pioneers looked destined for a sweep, leading 4-2 going into the final frame.

Red-shirt senior pitcher Connor McCarthy (Westbury, N.Y.) struck out the first batter, but issued a walk before a single put the tying run on base. McCarty then got a pop up for the second out, but another walk loaded the bases. An error by Tolan allowed all three runs to score, giving the Knights a 5-4 walk-off victory.

Head Coach Mike Gaffney and the Pioneers wrap up their ECC schedule with the series finale against Queens on Sunday (Apr. 26) at the LIU Post Baseball Field in Brookville. Prior to the game, the team will be honoring the seven graduating seniors. The first pitch is set for 12 p.m.