OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – Nine runs batted in on the day from sophomore Abbey Fortin were not enough to help the LIU Post softball team overcome neighboring New York Institute of Technology, as the Bears came from behind in game two to force the Pioneers to settle for a split April 21.
 
Fortin finished 3-for-6 at the plate with two home runs and a double to go with the nine RBIs. Junior Julia Seader also had a productive day at the plate, driving in five runs behind three hits and adding four runs scored. Sophomore Ashley Casazza finished 4-for-5 at the dish with four runs scored as well.
 
Game One – LIU Post 9, NYIT 3
 
The Pioneers took control early in the day's opening contest, scoring five runs in the top of the second inning behind consecutive two-run doubles by Seader and freshman Patricia Dun. Fortin capped off the big inning with an RBI-double to left field to put LIU Post in complete control.
 
Fortin put the game out of reach for good in the sixth inning with a three-run home run. The Bears chipped away slightly in the bottom-half of the frame, plating three runs to avoid the eight-run mercy rule, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit as the Pioneers came away with the 9-3 victory.
 
Game Two – NYIT 11, LIU Post 10
 
An eight-run fifth inning was spoiled by two unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh inning by the Bears in game two. NYIT jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, scoring in the first, second, and third innings.
 
The Pioneers stormed back in the top of the fifth, however, starting the rally with a single through the infield by junior Leah Mele. Following a fielding error by the Bears, senior Jaclyn Hahn legged out an infield single to load the bases. Fellow senior Gianna Gatto put the Pioneers on the board with a single to left field, and junior Ashley Melendez followed suit with another RBI-single to left field to make it 8-2 with nobody out. Another error helped the Pioneers bring home two more runs, and Fortin delivered a huge blow with a grand slam to tie the game, 8-8.
 
The Green and Gold took its first lead of the game in the top of the sixth when Seader roped a double to left-center field to score Casazza, but NYIT answered immediately with a run in the bottom of the sixth to tie the score once again. Despite facing a bases-loaded situation, junior Hannah Olshevski stranded all three runners on base to work out of the jam.
 
LIU Post again took the lead in the final inning on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Megan Sneeden and found themselves three outs away from the win in the bottom of the seventh. Two costly errors proved to be the difference however, as the Bears plated two runs to earn the narrow 11-10 victory.
 
Despite the loss, the Pioneers remain three games ahead of Molloy College for first place in the East Coast Conference standings at 14-4 in league play. The Pioneers return to action tomorrow, April 22, when they battle third-place Mercy College on the road at 12:00 p.m.