BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – Buoyed by two home runs from junior
Zach Fritz, the LIU Post baseball team swept Mercy College in a doubleheader and moved to 10-0 in East Coast Conference (ECC) play Saturday afternoon at the LIU Post Baseball Stadium. The Pioneers took game one 10-4 and game two 7-2.
The Pioneers continued to put up gaudy offensive numbers as they totaled 17 runs, 23 hits, 17 RBI, eight stolen bases, two home runs and four doubles.
Coming ECC Player of the Week honors, Fritz hit .571 and finished with four hits, two home runs and four RBI. Senior
Anthony Vaglica also had four hits and added three RBI, and three doubles. Senior
Dave Brehm also made an impact after tallying four hits, four RB and a stolen base. Senior
Reynaldo Guillen and freshman
Giovanni Ciaccio each had two stolen bases on the day.
Senior
James Varela earned the win for LIU Post in game one after striking out eight in 8.2 innings. In game two, junior
Noah Lorenzo went the distance as he struck out two whole only allowing three hits and two runs in seven innings.
Game One – LIU Post 10, Mercy 4
In a contest that saw LIU Post tie its season-high in stolen bases with six, the Pioneers got off to a strong start as a sacrifice fly down the right field line by Brehm scored Ciaccio and gave LIU Post a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Pioneers ended with the frame with a 2-0 advantage after an RBI double to right center by Vaglica.
While Mercy tied the game in the top of the second, an RBI single to left center by Ciaccio put the Pioneers ahead 3-2. In the bottom of the fourth, Fritz launched the ball over the left field fence and LIU Post took a 4-2 lead.
A two-RBI single to left field by Brehm in the bottom of the seventh followed by a two-RBI double to left center by Vaglica saw the bottom of the seventh with an 8-2 advantage.
Ciaccio ripped a two-RBI single to right field that gave LIU Post a 10-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth and while the Mavericks mustered two runs in the top of the ninth, LIU Post held on for the 10-4 triumph.
Game Two – LIU Post 7, Mercy 2
Game two began much the same as game one; Brehm ripped an RBI single up the middle and Manzione singled to right field as the Pioneers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
The Pioneers' advantage expanded to 3-0 after an RBI-single to left field by Fritz in the bottom of the third but Mercy responded with two runs of their own in the top of the fourth.
Fritz recorded his second home run of the day in the bottom of the fourth as he sent the ball sailing over the left field fence once again for the two-RBI homer. Guillen followed with an RBI triple to center field and the Pioneers ended the frame with a 6-2 lead.
LIU Post's final run of the day came in the bottom of the sixth; Manzione singled up the middle and would go on to score on a fielding error at shortstop to give the Pioneers the win with a final score of 7-2.
Up Next
LIU Post concludes its series with the Mavericks tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. at Mercy Field in Dobbs Ferry, New York.