On the back of a strong all-around weekend, the Stony Brook softball team swept a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) rival to vastly improve its playoff chances.
The Seawolves (19-13, 9-6 CAA) traveled to West Long Branch, N.J. this weekend for a three-game set with the Monmouth Hawks (13-24, 6-8 CAA). Stony Brook picked up 4-3 and 8-0 victories to sweep Saturday’s doubleheader before completing the series sweep with a 2-0 win on Sunday.
In game one, the Seawolves came out firing. With Monmouth starting pitcher Billie Kerwood in the circle, center fielder Alicia Orosco and shortstop Kyra McFarland laid down back-to-back bunt singles to lead off the game. After right fielder Alyssa Costello advanced the pair on a flyout, left fielder Catherine Anne Kupinski grounded out to shortstop to drive in a run.
Now with two away, designated player Julianna Sanzone sent a run-scoring single through the left side of the infield to make it 2-0.
In the home half of the inning, the Hawks clawed back. Starting pitcher Mia Haynes walked Monmouth left fielder Dani Dabroski to start the frame. Dabroski stole second base during the ensuing at-bat and third baseman Savannah Simons singled through the right side to bring her home.
Immediately after, Haynes hit shortstop Mackenzie Bloss with a pitch and allowed a single to second baseman Bri Lawson to load the bases. Designated player Ana Rodriguez then reached on a fielder’s choice to tie the game at 2-2.
In the top of the third inning, Stony Brook regained its two-run lead. After McFarland singled to lead off the inning, she stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error. Immediately after, Kerwood issued a free pass to Costello, who played some small ball of her own and swiped second. On the throw to second, McFarland broke for the plate and scored.
With Costello now standing on second base, Kupinski picked up the run batted in (RBI) by ripping a double to left field to make it 4-2.
Bearing resemblance to the games’ early innings, Monmouth began to fight back in the bottom of the fourth. First baseman Devin Coia dumped a leadoff single into center field and advanced to third base on a pair of groundouts. With one out left to get for Haynes, Simons laced an RBI single into left field to cut the Hawks’ deficit to 4-3.
Though the Seawolves’ offense remained quiet through the remainder of the game, Haynes shut down Monmouth the rest of the way. She retired 10 of the final 11 batters she faced to put the contest to bed.
Despite a rough start to the day, Haynes finished strong. She tossed a complete game to the tune of three runs, seven hits, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and five strikeouts.
In the second half of Saturday’s twin-bill, Rodriguez struggled out of the gate after getting the start in the circle. Stony Brook blew the game wide open in the top of the second inning. After second baseman Naiah Ackerman and third baseman Brooke Dye reached base via a walk and error, respectively, first baseman Corinne Badger stepped up to the plate and hammered an RBI double into the left-center field gap.
Immediately after, Orosco walked to juice the bases and McFarland slapped a single into left-center field to score another run. With two outs and the bases still full, Kupinski unloaded a bases-clearing double into center field to make it 5-0.
Following the Seawolves’ big inning, Rodriguez was pulled in favor of Monmouth relief pitcher Olivia Lewis. Though Lewis worked a scoreless third, she faltered in the fourth.
With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, Orosco singled and McFarland continued her big weekend with an opposite-field double into left center. With two runners in scoring position, Costello capitalized and took a single the other way to score both runners.
Kupinski then grounded a single up the middle, allowing Costello to cross the plate and make it 8-0.
Operating with an eight-run cushion, starting pitcher Gabrielle Maday kept that score intact through five innings to invoke the mercy rule.
After earning the two huge victories, head coach Megan Bryant heaped praise on her team for its performances in all three facets.
“We put all three parts of our game together today to earn two important wins,” Bryant said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “We played with great intent and purpose and our execution was excellent. Tomorrow, it’s about continuing our approach and finishing the series strong.”
Similar to the series opener, Stony Brook cracked Kerwood from the jump. Leading off the game, Orosco pulled a double down the right-field line before McFarland stayed hot by sending an RBI single through the middle of the diamond.
After a strikeout and an interference call produced two outs, Kupinski and Sanzone put together a rally with one life left in the top of the first inning. Kupinski blasted a double into center field and Sanzone followed by knocking a double of her own into the gap in left-center to make it 2-0.
The Seawolves were kept at bay from that point on, but those two early runs were all they needed to complete the sweep. Despite allowing three walks and hitting a batter in the series finale, Haynes twirled a one-hit shutout while racking up seven punchouts.
With the sweep, Stony Brook moved into fifth place in the CAA standings, meaning the Seawolves currently occupy a playoff spot.
After bringing out the brooms, Bryant could not have been more pleased with her team, specifically highlighting Haynes’ spectacular outing and the defense behind her.
“What a great series and important victories for us,” Bryant said. “Our team played consistently well in all three parts of our game and a big shout to our defense for coming up with clutch plays when we needed them. Mia stepping up with a one-hitter in such a close game was key. We have a really good approach right now and a lot of softball ahead of us.”
Overall, Haynes allowed three runs, eight hits, five walks and two hit-by-pitches, while also accumulating 12 strikeouts across 14 innings during her weekend.
In her lone appearance of the weekend, Maday was excellent over five shutout innings, surrendering just three hits and two walks. The southpaw relied heavily on her defense, striking out just a single batter.
At the dish, McFarland shined in all three games. She went 7-for-9 with a double, two RBIs, four runs scored, a walk and a stolen base. She is now tied atop the CAA hit leaderboards with 43.
Per usual, Kupinski was dangerous at the plate as the team’s primary run producer. She went 4-for-10 with three doubles, six RBIs and a run scored.
Orosco and Sanzone also had nice weekends as they continue to improve their batting averages. Orosco went 4-for-11 with a double, four runs scored and a walk, while Sanzone went 4-for-9 with a double, two RBIs and a walk.
Ackerman reached base five times over the course of the series, earning three free passes while going 2-for-7 with a run scored. Badger went 2-for-8 with a double, RBI, run scored and walk.
After turning things around as of late, Costello had an up-and-down series. The reigning batting champion went just 1-for-8 and struck out four times, but she drove in two runs, scored a pair herself, drew two walks and swiped a bag.
Stony Brook will now return to nonconference action with a trio of midweek games at University Field. To kick off their six-game week, the Seawolves will take on the Sacred Heart Pioneers in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. The Pioneers are 14-18 this season and 8-2 in Northeast Conference play. Sacred Heart will wrap up its series with Merrimack on Monday before heading to Long Island.
Stony Brook will then square off with the St. John’s Red Storm on Wednesday. The Red Storm are 21-17 this season and 10-5 against Big East Conference opponents. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.
