While ace pitcher Dawn Bodrug did not pitch a no-hitter in her third straight start, she came mighty close — and accomplished feats that she did not in either of her last two historical performances.
Bodrug surrendered only one hit against the Providence Friars on Saturday, April 9, a fourth-inning single that broke up her perfect game bid after she retired the first 10 batters, nine via strikeout. It was the only baserunner she allowed all game.
While she couldn’t take credit for a third no-no in a row, Bodrug allowed less players to reach on Saturday than she did in her St. John’s no-hitter (two walks and two hit-by-pitches) or her Maine no-hitter (one walk and one hit-by-pitch).
Bodrug’s domination was further exemplified by fanning 18 batters, tying the single-game career high she set in 2020 against Iona. She mowed down the first eight batters of the contest, and needing to preserve a one-run ballgame, struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to match her personal mark and win the 1-0 pitcher’s duel.
The performance marked her 14th complete game of the season, seven of which were complete game shutouts. She has now struck out 186 batters, the fourth-most in the country, in 110.1 innings pitched this season. Saturday’s start lowered her ERA to 1.65.
Bodrug’s gem was the latter of two shutouts that Stony Brook (20-10) earned on Saturday in a sweep of Providence (21-11), the third-place team in the Big East Conference. In the opening half of the doubleheader, pitcher Shelbi Denman went the distance, fanning a career-high 12 as the offense did enough to help for a 3-0 victory.
Denman’s ERA dropped to 2.31 in the shutout.
As part of a 3-for-4 outing that raised her batting average to .382, catcher Corinne Badger started the scoring in the top of the third with an RBI single. The Seawolves extended their lead in the fourth when left fielder Catherine Anne Kupinski left the yard for the second time this season and center fielder Alicia Orosco’s two-out RBI base hit brought the game to its final score.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Stony Brook ended the stalemate in the sixth inning by tacking on four hits in a row. Kupinski plated right fielder Shauna Nuss for the only run scored in the contest. With the bases loaded and only one out, the Seawolves could have busted the game wide open, but Friars pitcher Jessica Walter stopped the bleeding there.
With how dominant Bodrug was on Saturday, it didn’t matter anyway.
“We played two complete ballgames today and were led by great efforts in the circle by Shelbi and Dawn,” head coach Megan T. Bryant said in a press release. “It’s an accomplishment to put back-to-back shutouts together these days. We kept our poise and focus in that close second game. The lefties set the table and Catherine Anne came up big.”
