Baseball Beats Molloy, Swept by STAC

David Otero

LIU Post’s Baseball Team currently has a record of 15-13 after defeating Molloy College 9-1 on Wednesday, April 4th, and getting swept in a doubleheader against Saint Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday, April 7th.

In the home contest against the Molloy Lions (12-18), the Pioneers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after a five-run outburst in the first inning. The first runs of the game were produced by junior catcher Anthony Corona as he drove in sophomore centerfielder Rich Maccarone and sophomore third baseman Tom Tolan on a two-run triple. Junior shortstop Keith Herring and junior right-fielder Gabriel Santos followed Corona, each contributing with RBI singles in the inning. Freshman outfielder Anthony Brunetti continued the hot hitting for the Pioneers, as he knocked in a run on a RBI double.

Pioneers’ senior starting pitcher Glen Hudson was dominant on the mound as he went eight strong innings, allowing only two hits and three walks to register his second win of the season.

Three days later, the Pioneers traveled up to Sparkill, New York, to face the Saint Thomas Aquinas Spartans (22-10) in a doubleheader. In the first game of the day, the Spartans had the upper hand, as they knocked off the Pioneers by a score of 9-5. Pioneers’ junior starting pitcher Bo Budkevics had a rough day, as he threw six innings, surrendering nine earned runs on 13 hits.

The Pioneers’ offense was unable to get anything going for most of the game, as they had a total of five hits all game long and did not reach base once via a walk. Spartans’ senior pitcher Matt Marotta remained undefeated (5-0) with the win, throwing a complete game, striking out three batters and allowing only two earned runs.

The Pioneers tried to salvage the second game of the doubleheader against the Spartans but had a poor showing, getting shut out 7-0. The Pioneers actually had the same number of hits on offense (five) as they did errors. Pioneers’ senior starting pitcher James Stone threw four innings, giving up three runs, still keeping LIU in the game. Freshman pitcher Joey Arena relieved Stone by tossing two scoreless frames, holding the Spartans in check. However, the Pioneers were unable to muster any offense against Spartans’ sophomore starting pitcher Eric Cooper as he threw six shutout innings.

The Pioneers’ next game is on Friday, April 13th, at home against Dowling College (17-12) at 3:00 p.m.