The Stony Brook softball team left the San Diego Classic with a 3-2 winning record, beating Utah State, San Diego and Long Beach State from Friday, Mar. 4 to Sunday, Mar. 6.
Pitcher Dawn Bodrug tossed 18 innings and two complete games despite surrendering five earned runs to San Diego State in the final matchup of the tournament. Her season ERA stands at 1.93.
Catcher Corinne Badger cooled off after slugging six home runs in five games to start the season at the FIU Invitational. She batted .267 with one home run and four RBIs in the series despite still batting .370 with an OPS of 1.617 on the season.
Third baseman Kyra McFarland went 6-for-15 at the dish and extended her on-base streak to nine games on the West Coast.
The Seawolves (7-3) scored a season-high 11 runs against San Diego and won their first extra-inning game of the season over Long Beach State.
Stony Brook wasted no time in the first inning of game one against Utah State as they cashed in on a pair of RBI groundouts from Badger and first baseman Lindsey Osmer. With one out remaining, designated player Catherine Anne Kupinski roped a double to right field, scoring left fielder Julianna Sanzone from third base to give Stony Brook a three-run lead.
After capitalizing on sloppy Utah State defense in the second inning, the name of the game for Stony Brook was strong pitching. Bodrug, who took the ball for her third start of the season, put on an absolute clinic against the Aggies. She struck out six straight batters through the first two innings, racking up a season-high 15 strikeouts and lowering her ERA to 0.97 in her third complete game of 2022.
The Aggies could only muster three hits against Bodrug, giving Stony Brook the 5-0 victory in game one.
The Seawolves continued to dominate on both sides of the field as they topped San Diego 11-1 in game two. Pitcher Shelbi Denman improved to 3-1 on the season after going the distance and surrendering only one run against the Toreros.
Denman received massive run support early on. The Seawolves jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second thanks to an RBI single by McFarland and a bases-clearing double by Kupinski. After being kept quiet in the first game, Badger made San Diego pay with a solo home run in the third inning. The homer marked her seventh in just seven games of play.
Stony Brook extended its lead to nine by the end of the third inning. The lead was more than enough for Denman to handle, as the Seawolves won in five innings thanks to the mercy rule.
Stony Brook’s 2-4 hitters had combined for 10 RBIs by the final out of game two.
“We played two excellent games today that combined great pitching, defense, and offensive production,” head coach Megan T. Bryant said in a press release. “We were able to generate and maintain momentum the entire second game and that was key in the decisive outcome.”
Game three picked up on Saturday morning against Yale. Pitcher Ashton Melaas was handed the ball for her first start of the season.
Despite quickly falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, the Seawolves staged a comeback in the third inning on a pair of infield singles by McFarland and center fielder Alicia Orosco. A throwing error by Yale third baseman Lauren Perren allowed Stony Brook to score without hitting the ball out of the infield.
Melaas pitched three innings and gave up three earned runs before handing the ball over to Denman in the fourth.
Besides her relief appearance, Denman took matters into her own hands in the fourth inning with a two-run homer to give the Seawolves a 4-3 lead over Yale. The homer was her second career hit and first career home run.
But errors came back to haunt the Seawolves in the fifth inning. A botched play in right field by Kupinski let Yale tie the game at four. From there, a single by Grayson Vives was all it took for Yale to secure the upset victory over Stony Brook.
Both runs surrendered by Denman were unearned. Despite suffering her first loss on the season, she fanned three batters and allowed only four hits in four innings of relief.
Stony Brook bounced back in an eight-inning victory over Long Beach State in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
“It was great to see us respond with a terrific team effort and win in game two after the disappointing loss to start the day,” Bryant said. “We played a complete and competitive game against a very good opponent in Long Beach State. It’s a quality performance that we can learn from and build on.”
Bodrug was in the circle against the Dirtbags. She delivered yet another complete-game performance, allowing only one earned run through eight innings of work.
This time around, Stony Brook fell behind in the third inning when LBSU center fielder Naomi Hernandez roped an RBI double down the left-field line.
Stony Brook tied the game back up in the sixth inning with a single by Osmer to score McFarland. Bodrug kept LBSU scoreless through the seventh inning, sending the matchup into extra innings.
The Seawolves secured the win over LBSU with a three-run eighth inning, which included a 2-RBI single to left field with the bases loaded for shortstop Nicole McCarvill. Although LBSU was able to tack on another run in the bottom of the inning, it was not enough to mount a comeback against Bodrug.
Bryant handed the ball to Bodrug one more time on Sunday hoping to shut down San Diego State in Stony Brook’s final matchup of the tournament. But San Diego State tacked five runs off of Bodrug, including two solo home runs in the third inning and a pair of RBI singles in the fourth.
Pitcher Maggie Balint held Stony Brook to just three hits through four innings. Pitcher Dee Dee Hernandez entered in relief to seal the 8-0 shutout over the Seawolves.
“This was a solid weekend for us so early in our season,” said Bryant. “We saw a lot of good things from our team, and know where we can grow and improve. Playing this level of competition is such a good experience and will only make us better.”
The Seawolves will head to Florida next weekend for another five-game series in the USF Tournament.
