NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Senior Rob Andreoli and sophomore Zach Fritz knocked back-to-back doubles in the ninth inning and junior James Varela tossed his sixth consecutive complete game to lead the LIU Post baseball team past Southern Connecticut State 2-1 in the opener of a three-game set at the Ballpark at SCSU April 13.
 
Varela tossed another gem for the Pioneers, going the distance for the sixth consecutive game to improve to 8-0 on the season, one win away from tying the LIU Post program record for wins in a season. The workhorse allowed just one run on three hits while fanning a career-high 13 batters.
 
Southern Connecticut State was held in check for nearly the entire game until Varela temporarily lost the strike zone in the eighth inning. During the bottom of the frame, the junior pitcher hit three Owl batters, including one with the bases loaded to bring home the game's first run.
 
Despite traling 1-0 in the ninth, the Pioneer bats rallied with three hits, including a lead-off single by junior Anthony Vaglica and the two-baggers by Andreoli and Fritz to give the Pioneers a 2-1 edge with nobody out. Owl pitcher Quantique White stopped the bleeding, however, and the Green and Gold took a 2-1 lead into the bottom half of the inning.
 
Varela returned to the mound for the ninth inning looking to finish off the complete game but got into trouble early when he hit his fourth batter in two innings to put the lead-off batter on base. Varela settled in though, striking out his 12th batter of the game for the first out. Following a groundout, Varela issued a walk and a successive stolen base put the winning run on second base for the Owls. The threat did not faze Varela, as he calmly struck out the final batter of the game to help LIU Post hang on for the win.
 
Vaglica and Andreoli both finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and a run scored, with Andreoli adding the game-tying RBI in the ninth. No other Pioneer recorded a multi-hit game as the Owls' pitching staff surrendered just eight hits on the day.
 
The Pioneers will host the Owls for two games on what is forecasted to be a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in Brookville. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.