GAFFNEY, S.C. – Opening day of the 2018 season was full of dramatics for the LIU Post baseball team, as the Pioneers split a doubleheader series with Limestone College, falling 7-6 in game one and earning a 4-2 victory in game two at Bob Prevatte Field Feb. 16.
 
Senior Rob Andreoli went 4-for-7 at the plate, scoring two runs and driving home another to lead the Pioneers offensively. Fellow senior Ramger Iglesias added three hits on the day, scoring twice, while classmate Joe Spitaleri added three hits with two runs batted in. Sophomore Zach Fritz recorded the first home run of the season for LIU Post, recording a solo shot in game one.
 
Game One – Limestone 7, LIU Post 6
 
A seventh-inning squeeze play to level the scoring wasn't enough to help the Pioneers complete the comeback against the Saints. Limestone jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the lead ballooned to 6-0 when Chase Allen hit a three-run home run to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning.
 
LIU Post began the comeback attempt in the fifth, plating four runs behind a trio of RBI base hits from Andreoli, and juniors Dave Brehm, and Jimmy Mendyk, cutting the deficit to two runs. After a scoreless sixth inning, the Pioneers entered their final at-bat still trailing by two. Fritz led off the seventh with a solo home run, however, and after a strikeout, the Pioneers put two runners on behind a hit by pitch and a single up the middle. A walk put the tying run 90 feet away, and a perfectly placed bunt down the third base line by Spitaleri caught the Saints off guard, leveling the score at 6-6 heading to the bottom of the final frame.
 
Despite blowing a six-run lead, the Saints answered when Brennan Strovink lined a one0out double down the left field line. Strovink advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a fly ball that dropped in the left-center field gap to give Limestone the walk-off 7-6 victory.
 
Game Two – LIU Post 4, Limestone 2
 
Sophomore Noah Lorenzo tossed a gem for the Pioneers in the back end of Friday's doubleheader, going the distance while allowing just three hits and two runs, striking out six along the way. The nearly wasn't enough, however, as his counterpart Alex Grooms scattered six hits over six innings, striking out eight and allowing just one run on the hill for the Saints.
 
Despite taking the lead in the top of the first inning, the Pioneers fell behind when the Saints scored on a wild pitch and a solo home run by Matt Orth in the bottom half of the frame. Both starters settled in, however, and the game was scoreless over the next five innings.
 
Trailing by one run once again heading into their final at-bat, the Pioneers took advantage of a Saints error and a wild pitch to put the tying run on third base with nobody out. Iglesias knocked home freshman Jahsiah Greene with a single through the middle to bring the Pioneers level, 2-2. The tie didn't last long however as Spitaleri followed up with a triple to left-center field to give LIU Post the lead.   Spitaleri later scored on a wild pitch, and Lorenzo was able to shake off a lead-off hit batsman to give LIU Post the 4-2 victory.
 
The Pioneers return to action tomorrow for a doubleheader matchup with Gannon University beginning at 2:00 p.m.