OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (Apr. 5, 2016) - On Tuesday, the LIU Post baseball team split an East Coast Conference doubleheader with St. Thomas Aquinas College, winning the opener, 10-3, before dropping the second game, 6-2.

The Pioneers (10-14, 2-6 ECC) got off to a quick start in the first game. Junior centerfielder Kenny Daley (Glenwood Landing, N.Y.) drove in a pair with a double, before freshman third baseman Jimmy Mendyk (Massapequa, N.Y.) plated two runs of his own with a double.

The Spartans (20-7, 6-2 ECC) scored a run of their own in the bottom of the frame off junior Dan Jagiello (West Islip, N.Y.), but the righty settled in after that.

The offense added a run in the top of the second, when junior catcher Thomas Asbaty (Randolph, N.J.) drove in a run with a groundout.

In the fourth, the bats came alive again. Sophomore right-fielder Rob Andreoli (North Wantagh, N.Y.) smacked his first collegiate home run. Then, with the bases loaded, sophomore designated hitter Lou Doria (Wantagh, N.Y.) missed a grand slam by a few feet as his single went off the wall, scoring two runs. Later in the inning, Mendyk drove in Daley for his third RBI of the day.

The Spartans added a run in the bottom of the fourth and sixth, before sophomore left-fielder James Cohan (Syosset, N.Y.) drove home Doria with a single back up the middle, making it a 10-3 ballgame.

Graduate J.P. Lipovac (East Elmhurst, N.Y.) kept the Spartans off the board in the seventh and eighth, before red-shirt senior Mike Curti (Oceanside, N.Y.) tossed a scoreless ninth to seal it.

Jagiello scatted seven hits over six innings. The righty allowed three runs (two earned) while striking out 10 and walking two.

Andreoli, Asbaty and Mendyk all had two-hit games. Mendyk also drove in three, while Daley and Doria had two RBIs each.

In the nightcap, Daley's RBI single in the fourth gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead, before poor defense led to four unearned runs in the Spartans' half of the fifth.

After a run in the top of the sixth cut the deficit to 4-2, the Spartans tacked on runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh to extend their lead to 6-2.

In the ninth, Chris Pennell sent the Pioneers down in order.

Freshman pitcher Brian Kavanagh (East Meadow, N.Y.) was the hard-luck loser, allowing seven hits and five unearned runs over six innings. Andreoli was the lone Pioneer with two hits. 

Head Coach Mike Gaffney and the Pioneers return to the diamond on Friday (Apr. 8), when they head to Brookhaven to take on Dowling College in the first game of a four-game set. First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.