Late-game heroics secured the final road contest of the regular season for the Seawolves.
On Tuesday, May 4, the Stony Brook softball team took to Queens to play its final scheduled non-conference game this year against the St. John’s Red Storm. Coming off of a three-game losing streak, the Seawolves looked to get the bad taste out of their mouths with a win.
Stony Brook went with a slightly different look for this game, starting junior pitcher Shelbi Denman in the circle, which was her first appearance since April 8. The Seawolves also started three bench players in the lineup: freshman outfielder Alicia Orosco, sophomore second baseman Brooke Dye and sophomore catcher Corinne Badger.
The scoring started in the bottom of the second inning, when St. John’s junior catcher Peyton Cody hit a solo home run to left-center field to put the Red Storm up 1-0. Denman then issued a hit and a walk, but escaped further damage by retiring the next three hitters.
Things got interesting in the top of the fourth inning as Stony Brook got itself on the board. St. John’s entered junior pitcher Angela Saric to start the inning, who surrendered a leadoff single to graduate third baseman Riley Craig.
With a runner on second and two-outs, junior infielder Lindsey Osmer entered the game as a pinch-hitter. Osmer delivered with a game-tying RBI single to center field. Graduate outfielder Jourdin Hering followed with a single of her own, moving Osmer to third. Hering then stole second base, and the throw by Cody went into center field, allowing Osmer to score the leading run.
Now with a 2-1 lead, Stony Brook entered their ace, senior pitcher Dawn Bodrug, in relief of Denman. Denman went three innings, only allowing the one run, lowering her ERA to 3.23 on the season.
Bodrug ran into immediate trouble, allowing the game-tying hit in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it 2-2 apiece. Stony Brook had a chance to take the lead back in the top of the fifth, but the Seawolves stranded runners at second and third base with one out.
Bodrug settled down, keeping the game tied at two until the top of the seventh inning, when the Seawolves bats delivered in the clutch. With two on and two out, Dye showed up big-time with an RBI single up the middle to break the tie. Stony Brook took a 3-2 lead to the bottom of the seventh, and that was all Bodrug needed.
With the tying run in scoring position, Bodrug would get a strikeout and a groundout to third base to end it. She went four innings in relief to earn the win, only surrendering one run on three hits. Bodrug now sits at 14-7 with a 1.48 ERA.
Hering led the way for the offense, going 3-for-4 with two steals, and Dye made the most out of her opportunity, going 2-for-3 with the game-winning hit in the seventh inning.
With this win, Stony Brook sweeps the season series versus St. John’s, going 2-0 against the Red Storm this year. The Seawolves now sit at 24-12 overall and will host the UMBC Retrievers for three games this upcoming Friday and Saturday. This matchup will be their biggest series of the season. Both teams are tied for first place in the America East at 7-4, and the winner of the series will win the conference regular season title and the right to host the postseason.
