WALTHAM, Mass. – The Pioneers rattled off 27 hits on the day but were overmatched in game two of Saturday's doubleheader as the LIU Post softball team was forced to settle for a split with Bentley University in non-conference action March 31.
 
Sophomore Abbey Fortin led the offensive charge with five hits, including four extra-base hits, and three runs scored on the afternoon. Freshman Breanna Klaiber continued her hot hitting, finishing 4-for-8 at the plate with three runs batted in and junior Leah Mele drove home three runs as well. Freshman Patricia Dun joined Klaiber with four hits on the day, while five others recorded multi-hit days.
 
Game One – LIU Post 6, Bentley 3
 
The Pioneers opened the day with 13 hits and six runs to power past the Falcons during game one. Klaiber opened the scoring in the top of the first when she singled home junior Julia Seader to give the Pioneers a 1-0 advantage.
 
Bentley responded in the bottom of the second, however, taking the lead on a two-run double to right field off the bat of Lea Thompson. LIU Post erased the deficit in its following at-bat though, plating two runs on a Seader single and a wild pitch. Following a scoreless fourth inning, Dun tripled home Seader in the top of the fifth, and Mele brought home Fortin with a two-out single to center field.
 
The Falcons added a single run in the bottom of the sixth, but junior Hannah Olshevski shut the door late in the contest to earn her seventh win in the circle as the Pioneers took the opener by the 6-3 final.
 
Olshevski finished with a complete game, striking out five batters while scattering six hits.
 
Game Two – Bentley 11, LIU Post 9
 
The backend of Saturday's doubleheader was an offensive showdown, with the Falcons outlasting the Pioneers, 11-9. The two teams combined for 24 hits and 20 runs in the second contest.
 
The Pioneers took the lead in the top of the second on a fielder's choice, although the lead would not last long. Three consecutive hits and a fielder's choice helped Bentley score three runs in the frame, taking a lead that it would not relinquish the rest of the way. The Pioneers scored one run in the top of the third on an RBI-triple by Fortin to cut the deficit to one run, but Bentley exploded for six runs on four hits to extend its lead to 9-2.
 
LIU Post did not go down without a fight. After a scoreless fifth inning, the Green and Gold scored three runs on four hits in the top of the sixth, highlighted by an RBI-double by junior Ashley Melendez and an RBI-single by senior Gianna Gatto, cutting the deficit to 9-5. Bentley added two insurance runs in the bottom of the frame in what proved to be the difference in the contest.
 
Fortin doubled home Dun with one out in the seventh, sparking a four-run inning for the Green and Gold. Mele notched a two-run double and sophomore Megan Sneeden drove home a run with one out, but Bentley's Lauren Calabrese worked out of the jam by inducing two pop-outs to end the game.
 
The Pioneers will look to bounce back when they return to East Coast Conference play at the University of Bridgeport on Tuesday, April 3 with first pitch scheduled for 2:30 p.m.