BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The offense exploded for 31 runs on 31 hits, including seven home runs as the LIU Post softball team swept the University of Bridgeport on Tuesday, April 16 at Seaside Park. LIU Post improve to 16-2 in East Coast Conference play this season with the win, taking a five-game lead over Saint Thomas Aquinas College for first place in the league standings.
 
The Green and Gold move to 36-8 overall on the season and have won 17 of its last 20 matchups. Despite reaching the East Region championship series last season, this year's Pioneer club can match the 2018-win total with a sweep of Queens College on Senior Day this Saturday.
 
Senior Julia Seader, junior Abbey Fortin, and sophomore Hanna Finkelstein each collected five hits on the day to lead the offensive output. Junior Megan Sneeden and sophomore Breanna Klaiber added four hits apiece. All nine Pioneer starting batters recorded at least one hit on the day, with eight tallying two or more and six posting three or more.
 
Fortin had a breakout game during the opener, finishing 4-for-5 with three home runs and seven RBI. The junior also scored four runs during the game and crossed the plate six total times on the day. Fortin's three home runs was her first three-homer game of her career.
 
Finkelstein also connected for four extra-base hits, roping three doubles and launching one over the fence to help drive in five runs and also scored five runs of her own. Seader added two doubles and one home run while scoring six runs and junior Allie Laird and freshman Jayna Rios hit the final home runs for the Pioneers.
 
In the circle, senior Hannah Olshevski and junior Katie Humhej collected wins, combining for a 2.00 earned run average. Olshevski surrendered just one run, over five innings, while Humhej held Bridgeport in check after a tough start where the Purple Knights scored four times during their first at-bat. The tandem has now helped LIU Post boast a 1.82 team ERA this season.
 
The Green and Gold host Queens at the LIU Post Softball Complex on Saturday, April 20 when the Pioneers will honor its five graduating seniors on Senior Day. LIU Post could clinch the regular season championship with a sweep and a combination of losses by Saint Thomas Aquinas and Bridgeport. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.