Hagenah Powers Pioneers for Sixth Win

David Otero Sports Editor

After completing its third consecutive double-header sweep, the LIU Post softball team has won six games in a row and boasts a 22-9 record. Most recently, the Pioneers dominated Dominican College on Sunday, April 7. The Pioneers cruised to an 11-2 victory and an 8-1 win on the road against the Chargers (14-14).

In the first contest, the Pioneers scored in every inning of play. Junior shortstop Nicole Hagenah got the Pioneers on the board in the first inning with a two-run homerun, her first of the campaign. The following inning, junior pitcher Liz Weber hit her fourth homerun of the season giving the Pioneers a 3-0 advantage.

In the fifth inning, Hagenah put the finishing touches on the game with her second two-run homerun of the game. She ended the game 2-3 with 2 HR’s, 3 runs and 4 RBI’s.

Junior centerfielder Alexis Gonzalez saw some pitches to hit as she batted in front of Hagenah. Gonzalez went 2-3 with 3 runs and 3 RBI’s.

Dominican College was unable to muster up any offense as the Chargers nearly had as many errors, three, as they did hits, four. They actually finished with one more error than runs scored.

The second game of the double-dip was more of the same for both squads. Although the Chargers began the game with the lead in the early going, a four-run third inning sparked an already hot Pioneers offense. Gonzalez, Hagenah, freshman third baseman Kelsey McLaughlin, and junior rightfielder Jessica Julich each recorded an RBI in the inning giving the Pioneers a 4-1 lead to work with.

Pioneers’ sophomore pitcher Megan Salcido (6-1) did not need any more insurance runs as she delivered a performance that all but shut down the Chargers. She threw four innings, allowing only four hits and the one earned run in the second inning. Freshman pitcher Quincy Lewis netted her first save as she tossed three innings of no-hit ball, walking only one batter in the process.

The Pioneers tacked on four runs over the final two innings of play highlighted by freshman second baseman Maria Palmeri’s solo home- run in the sixth inning. With her fourth homerun of the season, Palmeri continued her five-game hitting streak.

Weber, hitting .426 for the season, has a hit in six consecutive games, as well as an RBI in four straight games.

The Pioneers return to play on Thursday, April 11 on the road against NYIT (8-18) with a double-header. First pitch for the opener begins at 3 p.m. and the second game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start. The Pioneers will aim to continue their hot play in the ECC as they own a 7-1 conference record.