Softball Takes Charge

Heather Norris

The C.W. Post softball team is on an eight-game win streak after having won each of its four games last week, on Thursday, April 14 and Saturday, April 16.  The team has dominated its opponents, defeating their competition by an average of over nine points over the course of the past eight games, even walking away with a 23-0 win over the Northern Boulevard rival-New York Institute of Technology Bears.

Thursday’s matchup pitted the Pioneers against Southern Connecticut State University.  In the first game of the day’s doubleheader, C.W. Post blew the Owls out of the water 12-4.  The game was close until the sixth inning, when the Pioneers’ offense came to life.  C.W. Post scored eight runs on seven hits in the top of the inning, opening a 12-3 gap.  One more run for S.C.S.U. finalized the score at 12-4 to end it.  Senior Christina Berardi got the win for the Pioneers, allowing just seven hits over six innings and striking out six, while freshman third baseman Nicole Hagenah crushed her second grand slam of 2011.

The second game was a much closer competition.  C.W. Post started the scoring off early when freshman leftfielder Carly Chamberlain scored from second off of a single to left field by Hagenah.  The Owls managed to pull ahead in the third, but lost the lead in the sixth when the Pioneers scored three quick runs, making the score 4-2.  Again, S.C.S.U. managed to put one more run on the board before the final out of the game but, again, the effort was too little too late.  Senior pitcher Sarah Kiser earned the 4-3 win for the Pioneers, her 12th of the season.

The Pioneers look good heading onto the week and a half of their season, currently boasting a 26-8 overall record, 12-4 in conference play.  The team takes the field next Thursday, April 21, at home in a rematch against rival N.Y.I.T.