While hosting the best that the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) has to offer, the Stony Brook softball team was given a lot of ground to make up.
The Seawolves (13-12, 3-6 CAA) were swept by the Delaware Blue Hens (21-7, 8-1 CAA) this weekend at University Field. After suffering 3-1 and 9-6 losses in a doubleheader on Friday, Stony Brook’s late comeback attempt came up short on Sunday to seal a 4-3 defeat.
Game one was decided just three batters in. After starting pitcher Mia Haynes allowed a walk and a single, Delaware designated player Sydney Shaffer lined her first offering inside the left-field line to double home a pair. From there, Haynes settled down by striking out the next three Blue Hens and limiting the damage to just the two runs.
The Seawolves struggled to crack Delaware starting pitcher Emily Winburn, but they broke through in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, designated player Julianna Sanzone pulled one just out of the reach of third baseman Julia Boyet and down the line to bring in right fielder Alyssa Costello with their first run. However, Winburn escaped further trouble and stranded a pair, giving herself five runners left on base through the first three innings.
The score remained 2-1 until the top of the fifth inning when Delaware right fielder Morgan Hess smoked one into left field to collect a two-out run batted in (RBI). However, the insurance run turned out to be obsolete, as Winburn retired nine of the next 10 hitters to slam the door on game one.
Head coach Megan Bryant was disappointed in her team’s offensive struggles.
“We had some opportunities to put up some more runs in game one that we didn’t capitalize on,” Bryant said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “We were right there in that one if we had been able to do that.”
Game two saw the Blue Hens throw the first punch again, as Shaffer jumped on a fastball in the top of the first inning from starting pitcher Gabrielle Maday and crushed it over the right-center field fence to go up 2-0. After back-to-back singles and a flyout to advance the runners, Delaware second baseman Katie Scheivert poked a single into right field to make it a four-run first.
After an RBI single by Costello in the bottom of the first inning got a run back for Stony Brook, the Blue Hens responded with a pair in the top of the second. After a single by first baseman Gianna Costaro brought in Delaware’s fifth run, Maday was pulled in favor of relief pitcher Ashton Melaas, who promptly surrendered an RBI single to Hess.
The Seawolves got a run back in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI single from catcher Corinne Badger and scored another in the third off a double from second baseman Naiah Ackerman.
Now leading just 6-3 in the top of the fifth inning, the Blue Hens put the game out of reach when Boyet launched a three-run home run halfway up the hill beyond the right-field fence to double Stony Brook’s deficit.
The Seawolves dug into Delaware’s lead with a sacrifice fly from Sanzone in the bottom of the fifth inning and a run-scoring groundout by center fielder Alicia Orosco in the sixth. Now trailing 9-5 in the seventh, Costello led off with an infield single and later came around to score on a wild pitch by Hess, who came in from right field to close the game out. Hess walked Ackerman and surrendered a single to catcher Emily Reinstein before issuing another free pass to third baseman Brooke Dye.
Now with Badger representing the potential winning run at the plate, the Blue Hens brought Winburn back out to quash the rally. Badger made a bid for her fifth home run of the season by sending Winburn’s only pitch deep to the right-field corner, but Delaware right fielder Ryleigh Thomas reeled it in just in front of the fence to end it.
Bryant was impressed with the resilience of her squad despite being down early.
“We had a shot; we always believe we have a chance,” Bryant said. “We showed a lot of grit and a lot of fight. Going forward, you put grit and fight with some better execution, we’ll be in a good spot.”
The Blue Hens came out swinging again against Haynes in the finale on Sunday. Batting with one away and two aboard in the top of the first inning, Costaro looped one over Ackerman’s head at shortstop to bring in the first run of the game. Haynes dug deep to get a pair of ground balls and limit the damage to one.
After Stony Brook went scoreless in the bottom half of the frame, Delaware’s offense went back to work against Haynes in the top of the second. With a runner on first base and one out, left fielder Veronica Diomede followed by poking one just inside the left-field foul pole for a two-run homer to extend the Blue Hens’ lead to 3-0.
Winburn — who was back in the circle for the third time in the series — continued to stymie the Seawolves’ lineup, as she scattered just three hits through the first three innings. Hess opened the top of the fourth inning with a solo bomb to dead center field that chased Haynes from the game in favor of Maday.
The move proved top pay off for Bryant, as the southpaw retired eight of the next 10 hitters she faced.
Still down 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, left fielder Catherine Anne Kupinski got Stony Brook on the board with a solo homer to cut into Delaware’s lead. After Maday threw up another zero in the seventh, Reinstein and second baseman Sofia Chambers were retired quickly to put the Seawolves down to their last out. Badger gave them life with a walk and Orosco followed with a single before advancing to second base on an error. Now with runners on second and third, McFarland flipped one into left to bring home a pair.
With the tying run now on base, Winburn engaged in a lengthy battle with Costello. After she fouled off numerous two-strike pitches, Winburn got her to swing and miss at a changeup to close out the weekend and secure the sweep.
After seeing her team come up short on two comeback attempts in this series, Bryant was adamant about scoring earlier in games.
“We’ve got to do it sooner,” Bryant said. “You really have to take advantage of every situation and make the most of opportunities and we’ve really got to do a better job of that in these conference series.”
Kupinski headlined Stony Brook’s offense once again, as she went 4-for-10 with two doubles, a home run, one RBI and two runs scored. Her homer was her sixth of the season, which is the second most in the CAA. Ackerman had one of her best weekends of the season, going 4-for-8 with a pair of doubles, an RBI, a run and two walks.
Orosco was productive out of the leadoff spot, as she was 4-for-11 with an RBI and two runs scored. McFarland went 3-for-10 with a double, two RBIs and a sacrifice bunt.
In the circle, Haynes led the way with 9 ⅓ innings pitched. Despite nine strikeouts, she struggled to the tune of seven runs on 13 hits, six walks and a hit batsman across two starts. After a disastrous outing on Friday, Maday contributed four scoreless frames on Sunday. In all, she tallied 5 ⅔ innings while allowing six runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out one.
Melaas also struggled in two relief appearances, as she allowed three runs on 10 hits with no strikeouts and two walks.
The Seawolves will hope to get right this Tuesday when they take on the Seton Hall Pirates in New Jersey. The Pirates are also 13-12 this year after winning two out of three against Creighton this past weekend. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
