Skyhawks outscored 14-3 in doubleheader sweep

Sophomore Alison Sumski went 2-for-4 in Stonehill's 8-2 loss to LIU Post today.

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (March 22, 2014) – The Stonehill College softball team was outscored 14-3 in two losses to LIU Post today in non-conference action at LIU Post's Softball Complex. Stonehill dropped the opener, 6-1, before falling in the second contest by an 8-2 final.

Senior Liz Weber (Brightwaters, N.Y./Bay Shore) earned the win with a strong effort for the Pioneers in the opener, as she went 6.2 innings and allowed one run on three hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Freshman Ashley Martin (Long Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) improved to 5-0 with a win in the second game, as she went the distance, allowing two runs on nine hits to go with three strikeouts and no walks.

Junior outfielder Catherine Havens (Eastport, N.Y./Eastport-South Manor) led the Pioneer offense today with a 4-for-7 performance at the plate with two RBI, while senior Alexis Gonzalez (Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppage) went 3-for-7 with three RBI.

Sophomore Cayleigh McCarthy (Norfolk, Mass./King Phillip) and freshman Cassandra Squeri (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) were the only Skyhawks to record hits in both games, as McCarthy went 2-for-2 with a two-run home run and Squeri went 2-for-6 with a pair of doubles.

LIU Post out-hit Stonehill 11-3 in the opener, and the Pioneers scored in four of their six at-bats. Havens went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Gonzalez, sophomore Paige Swantek (Smithtown, N.Y./Commack), and freshman Kayla McCoy (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) recorded two hits and two RBI each.

McCarthy, Squeri and sophomore Megan Ruonavaara (Rocky Hill, Conn./Rocky Hill) had one hit apiece for the Skyhawks, while classmate Megan Staudle (New Windsor, N.Y./Cornwall Central) drew two walks and scored Stonehill's lone run of the contest.

Ruonavaara dropped to 1-4 with the loss after giving up six runs on 11 hits in six innings of work. She also struck out two and allowed one home run with no walks.

After a scoreless first, LIU Post scored the first run of the game in the second inning on a sacrifice fly by McCoy. The Pioneers added single runs in the third and fourth innings to take a 3-0 lead after four.

LIU Post broke the game open in the sixth, as the home team doubled its lead to go ahead 6-0. Junior Aly Dzierzynski (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) doubled with one out, and McCoy followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Sophomore Maria Palmeri (Middle Village, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) came up next and delivered a run-scoring ground out, and two batters later Havens plated two more runs with her second single of the game.

Stonehill got one run back in its last at-bat, as Ruonavaara singled home Staudle with two outs in the inning, but the Skyhawk offense would do no further damage.

LIU Post 8, Stonehill 2

Sophomore Emily Padilla recorded two hits as Stonehill fell to LIU Post, 8-2, in the second of two games today.

After an 11-hit, six-run effort in game one, LIU Post did even more damage in the second contest, with 12 hits and eight runs. Senior Nicole Hagenah (Commack, N.Y./Commack) went 3-for-4 with two runs, while Gonzalez and Havens picked up two more hits each.

Sophomores Alison Sumski (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) and Emily Padilla (Wappinger Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) paced Stonehill offensively with two hits each, while McCarthy launched her first home run of the season.

Sophomore Lauren Esposito (Middlefield, Conn./Coginchaug) started the game in the circle for Stonehill and took the loss after giving up four runs in 2.2 innings of work. Freshman Michelle Carbone (Deer Park, N.Y./St. Anthony's) took over for Esposito in the third inning and gave up four runs (two earned) over 2.1 frames.

For the second consecutive game, the Pioneers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. After McCoy sandwiched a double between a pair of groundouts, junior Samantha Miller (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) delivered a two-out RBI single to score the game's first run.

LIU Post went up 4-0 the following inning on a three-run home run by Dzierzynski, and then added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on RBI singles by Palmeri and Miller.

Stonehill answered in the sixth, as McCarthy blasted a two-run shot to right field, but the Pioneers got both runs back in the bottom of the inning on a two-run homer by Gonzalez.

Stonehill (5-9, 0-0 NE-10) will be right back in action tomorrow when the Skyhawks open Northeast-10 play with a doubleheader at the University of New Haven. Stonehill is slated to take on Bentley University in its 2014 home opener on Tuesday at 3 p.m. LIU Post (11-3, 0-0 ECC) will be in action tomorrow as well, as the Pioneers are set to host Dominican College for another doubleheader.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks mobile app on iTunes and the Android Market.