BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – Junior Hannah Olshevski threw a three-hit shutout in game one as the LIU Post softball team battled to a split with Caldwell University in non-conference action April 8 at the LIU Post Softball Complex.
 
Junior Leah Mele finished as one of three Pioneers with three hits on the afternoon, finishing 3-for-6 at the plate with a double and a run scored. Freshman Patricia Dun and junior Julia Seader added three hits as well, while senior Gianna Gatto drove home the lone run in game one.
 
Olshevski struck out six batters in the win, earning her 10th win of the season in the circle.
 
Game One – LIU Post 1, Caldwell 0
 
It was a low scoring affair in game one, as the Pioneers tallied the game's lone run in the bottom of the second inning. Mele set the tone with a one-out double to left field before sophomore Megan Sneeden delivered a single down the right field line to move Mele to third. Gatto followed suit with a fly ball to center field that was deep enough to drive home Mele to give LIU Post a 1-0 advantage.
 
The Pioneers stranded a runner in scoring position in each of their final four at-bats, but Olshevski did enough to hold off the Cougars. Just one runner reached second base in the final five innings for Caldwell, as the only true threat came in the top of the third inning but Sneeden gunned down a Cougar at the plate trying to score from second on a base hit to right field to end the inning.
 
Game Two – Caldwell 7, LIU Post 3
 
Game one may have only featured one run, but the teams combined for four runs in the first inning alone in game two. After Caldwell took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the Pioneers recorded three consecutive hits in the bottom of the frame to level the scoring. The Cougars worked out of the jam in the first, but LIU Post took the lead two innings later when Dun sent an RBI-double in the right-center field gap to go ahead 3-2.
 
Caldwell took control of the game in the top of the fifth inning, however, scoring three runs to retake the lead for the first time since the opening frame. Two LIU Post errors allowed Caldwell to score three runs on just two hits during the top of the frame, and the Green and Gold stranded a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the inning.
 
The Cougars added two more runs in the top of the seventh to put the game out of reach, as the Pioneers dropped their first contest of the season on the home field, 7-3.
 
It is a week of East Coast Conference action coming up for LIU Post, as the Pioneers battle three conference opponents beginning with Molloy College at home on Tuesday, April 10 at 3:00 p.m.