
In the final weekend of its 2024 regular season, the Stony Brook softball team won its final series but showed signs of struggle against one of the Coastal Athletic Association’s (CAA) worst teams.
This weekend, the Seawolves (34-15, 19-8 CAA) were in Greensboro, N.C. to take on the North Carolina A&T (N.C. A&T) Aggies (12-36, 6-21 CAA) in a three-game series. The Aggies picked up an upset 3-2 victory in the series opener on Thursday before Stony Brook responded with a 4-3 comeback win on Friday. On Saturday, the Seawolves took the rubber game 2-1.
With N.C. A&T starting pitcher Kayla Douglas in the circle to start game one, Stony Brook jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. With one out in the top of the first inning, shortstop Kyra McFarland legged out an infield single and stole second base during the next at-bat. With two away, first baseman Corinne Badger stroked a single through the middle of the diamond to bring McFarland home.
Though starting pitcher Mia Haynes kept the Aggies in check in the home half of the inning, they broke through to take the lead in the bottom of the second after N.C. A&T right fielder Brenay Howard beat out a throw by McFarland for an infield single. Then with two gone, center fielder Katriel Williams picked up a run batted in (RBI) when she laced a triple that ricocheted off the tip of center fielder Alicia Orosco’s glove and rolled to the wall.
Immediately after, designated player Kayla Taylor sent another ball towards McFarland, who sailed it over Badger’s head to make it 2-1 Aggies.
After a double play ended a threat in the fourth inning, the Seawolves knotted things up in the fifth. With two outs, Orosco dumped an opposite-field single into left field and swiped second base to put herself in scoring position. During the ensuing at-bat, McFarland benefited from a throwing error by her N.C. A&T counterpart — shortstop Makayla Layton — who allowed the tying run to cross the plate when she bounced a throw past first baseman Joey Barkhimer.
The contest remained deadlocked until the bottom of the seventh inning. After striking out Taylor to start the frame, Haynes hit Layton with a pitch to put the winning run on base. Following Layton, N.C. A&T second baseman Alyxx Estrada stepped up to the plate and pulled an RBI double down the left-field line to walk off Stony Brook.
After losing a stunner, head coach Megan Bryant stressed the importance of having a short memory in order to get back in the series the next day.
“Tough loss to start the series and credit A&T for doing what they needed to do to win the ballgame,” Bryant said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “Now we regroup, refocus and respond tomorrow.”
Despite the loss, Haynes continued her strong season. She pitched 6 ⅓ innings to the tune of three runs (two earned), five hits, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and seven strikeouts.
With a chance to even up the series in game two, Stony Brook drew first blood in the top of the second inning. Designated player Julianna Sanzone led off the inning with an opposite-field single before a wild pitch and sacrifice bunt combined to move her to third base. With two outs, third baseman Brooke Dye came through with an RBI single off N.C. A&T starting pitcher Amaya Kearse.
However, like the series opener, the Seawolves’ lead did not last long. In the bottom of the second inning, Barkhimer led off the frame with an infield hit and a batter later, N.C. A&T catcher Jamari Moss crushed a no-doubt, two-run home run off starting pitcher Gabrielle Maday to make it 2-1 Aggies.
After being stymied for most of the game, Stony Brook received late-inning heroics from Sanzone. In the top of the sixth inning, McFarland slapped an infield single to shortstop and left fielder Catherine Anne Kupinski bunted her over to second base. With two outs and the count full, Sanzone took another pitch the other way into right-center field to tie the contest up at 2-2.
Similar to the second inning, N.C. A&T displayed more resilience in the home half of the sixth. After Douglas stranded a pair of runners in relief to end the top of the sixth, Howard took Maday deep to center field to lead off the bottom of the frame, restoring the Aggies’ lead and prompting Bryant to bring relief pitcher Ashton Melaas into the game.
Despite being down, the Seawolves were not out. To lead off the seventh inning, Bryant called upon third baseman Madelyn Stepski for a rare pinch-hitting opportunity and she rewarded her decision by registering her first collegiate hit. Immediately after, right fielder Alyssa Costello exacted revenge on Douglas, as she blasted a go-ahead, two-run shot over the right-field fence.
After Costello made it 4-3 Stony Brook, Melaas ensured that there would not be another N.C. A&T rally in the bottom of the seventh inning. She worked a clean frame, retiring the Aggies in order with a pair of strikeouts bookending a flyout to wrap up the series equalizer.
Bryant praised her team on all fronts after its feisty, come-from-behind effort.
“Gritty win for us today,” Bryant said. “Gabby and Ashton combined to give us a chance to win it, and Brooke, Jules and Alyssa came through with clutch RBI. Alicia had a couple outstanding catches to take hits away. We look forward to finishing the series strong tomorrow.”
As she has been all season, Melaas was the team’s unsung hero in game two. She pitched two perfect innings and accumulated four strikeouts.
In the rubber match, the Seawolves got on the board first in the third inning. After N.C. A&T starting pitcher Sharla Kirkpatrick surrendered a single to Costello and plunked Orosco, Kupinski came up clutch by sneaking a two-out, RBI single past Layton to make it 1-0.
With Haynes battling through most of the game, the Aggies finally pushed across the tying run in the bottom of the fourth inning. After Howard walked and advanced to second base on a wild pitch, Moss slashed an opposite-field single into right to deadlock the game at 1-1 and chase Haynes from the game in favor of Melaas.
Like game two, Stony Brook used some of its late-inning magic to regain the lead. Catcher Emily Reinstein smacked a single the other way to lead off the seventh and with infielder Katherine Bubel pinch running, second baseman Sofia Chambers bunted her to second base. With two outs, Orosco chopped a ball to Barkhimer, who allowed Bubel to score when she threw it errantly to first.
Despite allowing a leadoff single in the bottom of the seventh inning, Melaas retired the next three batters, inducing a popup and flyout before recording a punchout to end the Seawolves’ regular season on a high note.
Following the series victory, Bryant was pleased with the improvements she saw from her team to finish strong as it prepares for the playoffs.
“It was great for us to win the game and the series, and to improve in several areas from Friday to Saturday,” Bryant said. “Mia and Ashton combined to give us a chance to win, and our defense was outstanding. We are proud of our regular season and now look forward to the tournament next week.”
Though she tossed just 3 ⅓ innings due to some lengthy at-bats on Saturday, Haynes was solid. She allowed one run on two hits and two walks while also striking out three batters. Through 9 ⅔ innings over two starts, Haynes punched out 10 Aggies while surrendering four runs (three earned), seven hits, four walks and a hit-by-pitch.
Similar to the series’ middle game, Melaas stepped in and was lights out. She hurled 3 ⅔ scoreless innings to the tune of one hit, a walk and seven punchouts. Overall on the weekend, she pitched 5 ⅔ innings and notched 11 strikeouts while only allowing two baserunners.
During her lone start on Friday, Maday did not have her best stuff. Over five innings of work, she gave up three runs, five hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Maday also struck out two batters.
At the plate, it was a relatively quiet weekend for Stony Brook. Costello led the way, going 3-for-8 with a home run, two RBIs, two runs scored, a walk and a stolen base.
Second baseman Ackerman also performed well. She went 5-for-9 with double to raise her batting average to .300 for the season.
McFarland went 3-for-11 to secure the CAA’s batting title with a .392 average. She also scored a pair of runs and swiped two bags.
Sanzone and Kupinski each went 2-for-8. Kupinski finished with an RBI and hit-by-pitch while Sanzone notched an RBI, run and two walks. Dye went 1-for-4 and drove in a run.
In nine at-bats, Badger recorded just a single and a walk, but her lone hit was an RBI knock. Stepski scored a run and picked up the first hit of her Seawolves career in her only at-bat, sparking the game-winning rally in game two.
Orosco went 2-for-11 with a run, steal and hit-by-pitch.
With the conclusion of this series, Stony Brook will now head to Wilmington, N.C. for the start of the 2024 CAA softball tournament. To start the playoffs, the third-seeded Seawolves will square off against the sixth-seeded Hofstra Pride on Wednesday at 2:30 pm in a playoff edition of the Battle of Long Island. Hofstra is 21-24 this season but 17-10 in conference play. If Stony Brook wins its first-round matchup, it will take on second-seeded Delaware at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. With a loss, it would have to play the loser of the Elon-University of North Carolina Wilmington contest at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday in an elimination game.