BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The LIU Post softball team remained perfect in East Coast Conference play with a doubleheader sweep of Mercy College Saturday, April 7 at the LIU Post Softball Complex.
 
Freshman Patricia Dun finished 5-for-7 at the plate with three runs scored to lead the offensive efforts. Classmate Breanna Klaiber added three hits, while junior Leah Mele and sophomore Abbey Fortin added three hits apiece as well. Fortin chipped in four runs batted in, including a three-run inside-the-park home run in game two.
 
In the circle, junior Hannah Olshevski threw eight innings between the two contests, allowing just six hits and one run. Olshevski earned the win in the opener before coming in for the save in game two. Freshman Hanna Finkelstein earned her first career win in relief, throwing 2.1 innings.
 
Game One – LIU Post 4, Mercy 1
 
The Pioneers jumped out ahead early and held on the rest of the way to take the opener, 4-1. Senior Gianna Gatto singled home Mele in the bottom of the second, giving the Pioneers a 1-0 lead that carried all the way into the fifth inning. Junior Ashley Melendez extended the lead with a sacrifice fly to right field in the bottom of the fifth and the Pioneers tacked on two more unearned runs on a Mercy error later in the frame.
 
Olshevski took care of the rest in the circle, allowing just one run on a two-out triple in the seventh inning as the Pioneers secured the game one victory.
 
Game Two – LIU Post 8, Mercy 7
 
The offense had to outlast Mercy in the backend of the doubleheader, as the teams combined for 20 hits and 15 runs in game two. It was a tough defensive game for LIU Post, as the Green and Gold made six errors in the field but the offense did just enough to help erase the miscues.
 
The Mavericks took the early lead with an unearned run in the top of the first, but the Pioneers responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Fortin started the scoring burst with an RBI-single through the middle and Klaiber and Sneeden added RBI-singles later in the frame to give LIU Post a 3-1 edge. Mercy leveled the scoring on a two-run homerun by Skania Lemus in the third inning and continued to have the hot bats in the fourth, plating three more runs to take a 6-3 lead.
 
The Green and Gold quickly erased the deficit, putting two runners on with two outs to set up Fortin's inside-the-park homer. Fortin blasted a pitch off the right field fence, and Mercy's Morgan Lloyd was unable to come up with the catch as she crashed into the wall and the ball got away allowing Fortin to round the bases and help the Pioneers pull back into a 6-6 tie. After a walk and a single, Mele sent a ball through the left side to give LIU Post a one-run lead after four innings.
 
The back and forth battle continued in the fifth when Mercy took the lead in the top of the frame, but it would not halt momentum for LIU Post. This time it was the Pioneers taking advantage of a fielding error, as Gatto reached first on a Mercy miscue and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt. Dun delivered the one-out single in what proved to be the winning run.
 
Olshevski came on in the top of the seventh and retired the side in order, helping the Pioneers hang on for the narrow victory as they improved to 6-0 in ECC play and 8-0 at home this season.
 
The Pioneers will put the perfect home record on the line tomorrow when they host Caldwell University at 12:00 p.m.