In a rematch of last year’s Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) semifinal, the Stony Brook softball team extended its winning streak to eleven games in the latest Battle of Long Island.
The Seawolves (24-13, 12-6 CAA) took three games from the Hofstra Pride (13-21,11-7) in Hempstead this past weekend. Stony Brook rallied late to take the opener 3-2 before repeating the theatrics with a 4-3 comeback victory on Saturday. The Seawolves played from behind again in Sunday’s series finale before an offensive explosion earned them a 7-1 win to conclude the sweep.
Hofstra got to Stony Brook starting pitcher Mia Haynes early, loading the bases with its first three batters. Following a hit-by-pitch, single and walk, right Fielder Chelsea Villar brought home the Pride’s first run on a fielder’s choice. Haynes then issued another walk to reload the bases but struck out the next two batters to get out of the jam with the score at 1-0.
Neither team brought a run across until the sixth when Hofstra extended its lead. With runners on first and third and one out, Haynes induced a grounder to second baseman Naiah Ackerman, which she bobbled. Ackerman flipped the ball to shortstop Kyra McFarland to get the force out, but the runner was safe at first, doubling the Pride’s lead.
Down to their last at-bats in the top of the seventh, the Seawolves put runners aboard. With one away, right fielder Alyssa Costello singled and center fielder Alicia Orosco reached on an error. A sacrifice bunt by McFarland got them to second and third but brought Hofstra one out away from victory. With the game on the line, left fielder Catherine Anne Kupinski bounced one down the first base line, which just missed the outstretched glove of first baseman Aliya Catanzarita and rolled down the line. Costello and Orosco both scored to tie the game. First baseman Corinne Badger then lined a double to right field, scoring Kupinski and giving Stony Brook a 3-2 lead.
Head coach Megan Bryant credited her team’s resiliency for its late rally.
“As long as we have outs left, we have a chance,” Bryant said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “Our execution in the seventh inning was outstanding.”
Relief pitcher Ashton Melaas, who had entered for Haynes to get the last out of the sixth, retired the top of the Pride’s lineup to put a bow on the game and earn the win.
Badger continued where she left off to open Saturday afternoon’s contest, belting a two-run home run over the left-field wall on the first pitch she saw from starting pitcher Julia Apsel.
Hofstra immediately cut into the lead in the bottom of the first on a leadoff solo shot by designated hitter Becca Vaillancourt off of starting pitcher Gabrielle Maday.
Maday’s rough start continued in the next frame. Second baseman Gianna Iaquinto smacked a double over Kupinski’s head in left field before shortstop Alanna Morse ripped another to the left-center gap, bringing in Iaquinto and evening the score at 2-2.
Costello led off the top of the third with a double and reached third with one out, but was unable to score before the Pride grabbed the lead in the third. Vaillancourt and catcher Olivia Malinowski singled to open the inning and with one out, Villar reached on an error by McFarland to load the bases. With a 3-2 count, pinch hitter Gabriella Sultan laid off Maday’s offering to force home Malinowski.
With just one out, Bryant promptly pulled Maday, putting Melaas back in the circle for her second consecutive relief appearance. Melaas handled the assignment with aplomb, holding Hofstra’s advantage to 3-2.
Melaas and Apsel exchanged zeroes over the next three innings, getting help from their respective defenses.
Having been held scoreless for five innings, the Stony Brook offense came alive in the seventh. Third Baseman Brooke Dye started the inning with an infield single before Madelyn Stepski entered to pinch run and Costello singled to right field. A strikeout by Orosco preceded a bunt single by McFarland, juicing the bases for Kupinski, who came up big again. This time, it was a two-run opposite-field single to score two runs and take the lead.
Apsel closed out the inning without allowing any more runs, but the damage had been done. Melaas earned her second win of the weekend after shutting down the Pride’s offense in the final frame.
Bryant was thrilled with her team’s high-leverage execution when they needed it most.
“Another hard-fought and well-earned win for us to take this important series,” Bryant said. “We once again came up with big plays, big hits and big pitches when we needed them the most.”
In Sunday’s getaway game, Hofstra jumped on Haynes quickly as Malinowski roped a homer over the left-field wall to put her team up 1-0.
Neither team threatened until the top of the fourth when Kupinski struck a double to right field. Badger then followed by popping a double to left-center to score Kupinski and knot the game at a run apiece. After Badger moved to third on a bunt, Ackerman blooped a single into right field to give the Seawolves the lead. Catcher Emily Reinstein singled to the right side before Costello punched a line drive single through the middle, scoring Ackerman and putting Stony Brook up 3-1.
The Seawolves put up a two-spot in the top half of the fifth against relief pitcher Annabella Pisapia. After McFarland walked and Kupinski singled, each scored on a single from Badger and a sacrifice fly by Ackerman. In the seventh, McFarland popped a fly ball to right field that Villar was unable to corral before rounding the bases on the inside-the-park home run.
On the other side, Haynes held the Pride in check, surrendering just five hits after the first inning while striking out six en route to the win.
Bryant praised Haynes’ performance and that of the team.
“Mia showed what a tough competitor she is, and her team backed her up offensively and defensively,” Bryant said. “What an important series this was for us. We went out with a great approach, taking one game at a time, to earn the sweep.”
In the circle, Haynes and Melaas had excellent weekends. Haynes twirled 12 ⅔ innings while only allowing 11 hits and three runs, on eight walks and 12 strikeouts and the game-three win.
Melaas was fantastic out of the bullpen, tossing six innings and surrendering four hits and zero runs while issuing one walk and earning wins in games one and two.
The heart of the lineup in Kupinski, McFarland, and Badger showed out against Hofstra.
Kupinski went 4-for-10 with four RBIs, a double, three runs, and one walk, with her game-one double and game-two single, which cemented the comebacks necessary to win both games.
McFarland went 4-for-10 with two RBIs, three runs, a walk and a home run. Badger went 4-for-11 with five RBIs, two runs, a double and a home run.
Additionally, Costello had an excellent weekend, going 5-for-7 with an RBI, three runs, a walk, a double and a stolen bag. Ackerman chipped in a 2-for-6 weekend while driving in two runs and scoring one.
Stony Brook will return to University Field for a midweek doubleheader on Wednesday to take on the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. The Knights are 16-19 on the season and dropped two of three over the weekend to Merrimack. Game one is set to begin at 2 p.m. with first pitch for the doubleheader’s bookend game scheduled for 4 p.m.
