SPARKILL, N.Y. (Apr. 20, 2017) - On Thursday, the LIU Post softball team split a doubleheader with East Coast Conference rival St. Thomas Aquinas College at Spartan Field in Sparkill.

The Pioneers (22-18, 8-8 ECC) fell by a 4-3 final in the opener, but hung on for a 1-0 victory in the nightcap to salvage the split.

Game #1: LIU Post 3, St. Thomas Aquinas 4
Trailing 2-0 in their final turn at-bat, the Pioneers strung together three straight two-out hits to grab the lead.

After a Claire Travis (East Meadow, N.Y.) double put the tying runs in scoring position, junior outfielder Samantha Marrone (Holbrook, N.Y.) cut the deficit in half with a one-out RBI single.

One batter later, sophomore catcher Julia Seader (Piscataway, N.J.) put the green and gold in front with a two-RBI double, plating Travis and Marrone.

However, the Spartans (15-19, 5-11 ECC) capitalized on a pair of LIU Post errors in the bottom of the seventh and knocked in two runs to earn the walk-off win.

Sophomore pitcher Hannah Olshevski (Robbinsville, N.J.) took the hard-luck loss in the decision. She threw seven innings of nine-hit, three-run, one-walk, one-strikeout ball.

Game #2: LIU Post 1, St. Thomas Aquinas 0
In the nightcap, freshman Katie Humhej (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada) and senior Julie Sosnicki (Wurtsboro, N.Y.) were tangled in a pitcher's duel for much of the contest.

Humhej gave up just two hits and two walks in her start, while Sosnicki let up four hits and no walks. Humhej also never allowed a runner to advance past second base.

Following four scoreless innings, LIU Post broke through in the fifth on a solo homer by Travis. It was her first career roundtripper as a member of the Pioneers.

From there, Humhej retired six of the final seven batters to face her, en route to securing the victory.

Head Coach Jamie Apicella and the Pioneers return to action Saturday (Apr. 22), when they take on ECC foe Queens College at noon in Flushing.