BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – Despite falling victim to a come-from-behind victory in game one, the LIU Post baseball team rallied behind another gem by junior James Varela to salvage a split with Dominican College in non-conference action March 17.
 
Junior Dave Brehm went 5-for-7 at the plate with a triple and two runs batted in. Classmate Anthony Vaglica added four hits with a double and a triple with two RBIs, while sophomore Zach Fritz, junior Jimmy Mendyk, and senior Ramger Iglesias added three hits apiece.
 
Game One – Dominican 10, LIU Post 8
 
LIU Post grabbed the lead in game one when Brehm plated two runs with a triple to right center in the bottom of the second inning. Mendyk and junior Joe Piscitelli drove in one run each later in the inning with RBI-singles as the Pioneers took a 4-0 lead after two innings. Despite allowing a run in the top of the third, the Pioneers responded with a run in the bottom of the frame when Fritz singled home junior Anthony Vaglica.
 
Dominican made it interesting in the top of the fourth, scoring two runs before sophomore David Marmann worked out of the jam to keep the lead intact. A wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth allowed LIU Post to extend the lead to 6-3, though the lead would not last for long.
 
The Chargers came to life in the top of the sixth, scoring four runs on five hits to take their first lead of the afternoon. LIU Post looked to keep things close, scoring on an RBI-single by Iglesias to level the scoring, but the Chargers answered with three more runs in the top of the seventh to put the game out of reach, helping Dominican earn its first win of the season.
 
Game Two – LIU Post 5, Dominican 0
 
It was another dominating performance on the mound for Varela in game two, as the junior allowed just two singles while striking out nine in another complete game shutout to improve to 4-0 on the season. With the shutout, Varela extends his scoreless innings streak to 19.2 innings, last allowing a run in the fourth inning against Felician on March 4.
 
Vaglica opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with a single up the middle to bring home Iglesias, giving Varela all of the offensive help he needed. Vaglica added to the lead with another RBI-single through the left side to put the Pioneers up 2-0.
 
Dominican did not record another hit until the seventh inning, as Varela fanned four consecutive batters at one point to completely quiet the Charger bats. Junior Michael Manzione blasted his second career home run in the bottom of the sixth, sneaking one just inside the foul pole down the right-field line to put an exclamation point on the victory.
 
The Pioneers return to action on Monday, March 19 when they play host to Adelphi University at 3:30 p.m.