ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – The LIU Post softball team clinched the No. 1 overall seed in next weekend's East Coast Conference softball tournament and will serve as the tournament host after a doubleheader sweep of Molloy College April 24.
With the two wins, the Pioneers improved to 17-5 in league play, capturing the regular season championship in the process.
Pitching dominated for the Pioneers, as junior
Hannah Olshevski tossed a five-hit shutout in game one and sophomore
Katie Humhej notched a four-hit shutout in game two.
At the plate, freshman
Breanna Klaiber finished 3-for-5 with one run batted in and sophomore
Megan Sneeden drove home two runs with two hits on the day. Junior
Julia Seader added the final multi-hit day for the Pioneers with two hits in eight at-bats.
Game One – LIU Post 1, Molloy 0
It was a pitching duel in game one as the teams combined for just 10 hits and one run. Olshevski dominated on the mound, needing just 98 pitches for the complete game victory.
Just one runner from either side reached second base through the first three innings, and the Pioneers took full advantage of their scoring opportunity in the fourth inning for the game's only run. Sophomore
Abbey Fortin led off the inning with a single through the left side of the infield and later moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Following another base hit, Sneeden drove home Fortin with a sacrifice fly to right field to give LIU Post a 1-0 lead midway through the contest.
Olshevski retired 9 of the next 10 batters she faced, and the Lions managed to put just one runner in scoring position in the final inning but the threat was quickly erased when the Pioneers caught
Chrissy Heyer between second and third for the second out of the inning.
Game Two – LIU Post 6, Molloy 0
The Pioneers took full advantage of seven Molloy errors and Humhej dominated the rest of the way in the circle to help the Pioneers clinch the regular season championship. Klaiber tallied all three of her hits during game two, putting the Pioneers on top with her first hit of the afternoon to drive in Seader in the top of the first inning.
LIU Post added an unearned run in the fourth and tacked on another run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Sneeden. More Lion miscues in the sixth inning allowed the Pioneers to score three more runs to put the game out of reach for good.
The Lions put just two runners in scoring position, both coming in the third inning, but Humhej stranded the bases loaded to keep Molloy scoreless. The Canadian native retired the final nine batters in order to close out the contest to earn her 13th victory of the season.
The Pioneers return to action on Thursday, April 26 when they host Southern Connecticut State University at 3:00 p.m.