DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – The Pioneer bats erupted for 23 runs on 26 hits as the LIU Post softball team swept Mercy College to open East Coast Conference play on Tuesday, March 26.
 
Junior Abbey Fortin finished with four hits on the day, including two home runs with four runs scored and four runs batted in. Senior Julia Seader and sophomore Breanna Klaiber added four hits each, with Seader hitting a home run and scoring three runs on the day. Junior Allie Laird hit a home run and drove in four runs to continue her hot hitting. Every hitter in the Pioneer lineup recorded at least one hit and one RBI on the day.
 
In the circle, senior Hannah Olshevski took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, earning the win in game two. Junior Katie Humhej fanned a season-high eight batters during the opener, allowing four runs over seven innings to improve to 10-1.
 
 Game One: LIU Post 13, Mercy 4
 
LIU Post stranded runners in scoring position during its first two at-bats of the day but broke through during the third inning when Laird, Seader, and Fortin recorded three consecutive singles to lead off the inning to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. A one-out double by sophomore Hanna Finkelstein added a second run and the Green and Gold tacked on one more on an RBI-groundout.
 
During the fourth inning, Laird continued to showcase her newfound power at the plate with a line-drive home run over the center field fence to give the Pioneers a 5-0 lead. The Green and Gold posted three more runs during the fifth inning, though Mercy avoided the mercy rule defeat with a solo home run during the bottom of the frame. The Mavericks continued to put together a small rally with an RBI-single and a two-run home run during the sixth before Humhej worked out of the inning.
 
The Pioneers put plenty of insurance runs on the board during the seventh inning as Mercy committed three errors to help LIU Post plate five runs and Humhej retired the side in order to pick up her 10th victory of the season.
 
Game Two: LIU Post 10, Mercy 1 (6 Inn.)
 
After a scoreless first inning, senior Ashley Melendez singled to center field to drive in Klaiber for the game's opening run. Fortin launched her first home run of the day to the opposite field during the third inning and junior Megan Sneeden doubled later in the inning to increase LIU Post's lead to 4-0.
 
The hot bats continued into the fourth inning when Seader launched a no-doubt two-run home run to right field, giving LIU Post a six-run lead. Two more runs during the top of the fifth gave the Pioneers an 8-0 lead for the second-straight game.
 
After not allowing a hit through four innings, Olshevski allowed her first blemish on the scoreboard by way of a leadoff home run during the bottom of the inning to cancel out the eight-run mercy rule for Mercy.
 
The Pioneers put the game away an inning later though, scoring two more runs that were highlighted by Fortin's second long ball of the day to increase LIU Post's win streak to nine games.
 
The Green and Gold return to the LIU Post Softball Complex on Thursday, March 28 when it hosts Dominican College for a two-game set at 2:00 p.m.