AUSTIN, Texas (Feb. 27, 2016) - On Saturday, the LIU Post baseball team split a doubleheader with sixth-ranked St. Edward's University, winning the opener, 5-3 in seven innings, before dropping the night cap, 17-5.

The Pioneers (1-6) got 6.2 solid innings from red-shirt senior pitcher Joey Arena (Yorktown, N.Y.), who was making his first appearance since suffering a season-ending injury in the third game of the 2015 season.
 
LIU Post got on the board in the first as sophomore rightfielder Rob Andreoli (North Wantagh, N.Y.) reached on an error which allowed sophomore centerfielder James Cohan (Syosset, N.Y.) to score.

The Hilltoppers (12-4) responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.

In the second, Cohan plated a pair of runs with a double, giving the Pioneers a 3-2 advantage.

Then, in the third, senior first baseman David Groeneveld (Centereach, N.Y.) hit his first home run of the season, making it 4-2.

The following inning, Andreoli hit a bases-loaded single that scored freshman third baseman Jimmy Mendyk (Massapequa, N.Y.), extending the Pioneers' lead to 5-2.

St. Edward's would score in the bottom of the fourth, but Arena kept them off the board in the fifth and sixth.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Hilltoppers put the tying runs on base with two outs, but red-shirt junior Brian Tinney (Farmingdale, N.Y.) came in and closed the door for his first save.

Arena scattered eight hits and allowed three earned runs over 6.2 innings. The lefty struck out nine and walked one. Cohan and Andreoli both drove in a pair of runs in the win.

In the second game, it was the Hilltoppers scoring first. The hosts plated three runs in the bottom of the first before the Pioneers answered back in the third.

With one out in the third, Mendyk doubled. Freshman left fielder Joe Piscitelli (Levittown, N.Y.), who was making his first career start, hit hit first collegiate home run, making it a 3-2 ballgame. Later in the inning, Groeneveld doubled, scoring Andreoli, tying it at 3-all.

The Hilltoppers would respond with five in the bottom half of the inning.

In the fourth, junior catcher Thomas Asbaty (Randolph, N.J.) hit his first homer of the season, making it 8-4.

St. Edward's answered with a run in the bottom of the inning, added another in the fifth and scored seven in the sixth to take a 17-4 lead.

In the seventh, Spitaleri was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to cap the scoring.

Piscitelli and Mendyk both had two hits. Piscitelli had a pair of RBIs, while Spitaleri, Andreoli and senior second baseman Matt Bowers (Staten Island, N.Y.) all had a run driven in.

Head coach Mike Gaffney and the Pioneers wrap up their four game-set with the Hilltoppers on Sunday (Feb. 28). The first pitch is set for 1 p.m. ET.