The Stony Brook Softball won its first two home games of the season on Saturday afternoon against the College of Holy Cross, performing well in a doubleheader on Saturday and taking the first game 7-0 and the second 10-1 in five innings.
In the first game, freshman pitcher Allison Cukrov pitched her first no-hitter of her collegiate career, allowing only one walk and striking out 10 in seven innings of work. She was only two strikeouts short of her record.
“She’s obviously a talented pitcher,” head coach Megan Bryant. “She’ll get stronger as she matures. She’s got control. She was effective, and we played great defense behind her.”
The team defense was something that Bryant thought was exceptional all-around for the day. The Seawolves only allowed only one run and four hits in both games combined.
The Seawovles began the first game with a bang when senior outfielder Suzanne Karath hit a triple on the ground into right field in the first at bat of the game. She came in to score the first run of the game when the Crusaers committed an error in the ensuing at bat.
Cukrov allowed little to nothing for the Crusaders for the first four innings. By the end of the third inning, she had already accumulated seven strikeouts.
Stony Brook tacked on another six runs between the fourth and sixth innings. With two outs in the fourth inning, on a ground ball to the second baseman allowed two runs to score. The Crusaders accumulated three errors for the first game and would add on another four in the second game. Senior infielder Lauren Maloney brought in another run in the fifth inning with a triple to left field. She came in to score as well when pitcher Julia Barrett for Holy Cross threw a wild pitch. Senior Alyssa Hawley brought in yet another run with an infield single, scoring junior infielder Gina Bianculli. Hawley would score herself on a pass ball.
Cukrov finished out the Crusaders in the top of the seventh inning. It was be her fifth win of the season. She finished out the day with 72 strikeouts for the season.
However, the Seawolves weren’t not be allowed to celebrate her no-hitter for long. The second game was yet to come. But Bryant was equally satisfied with her team’s performance in that game.
“I thought we picked up our intensity level,” she said.
The second game began with Holy Cross looking to take at least one game on Stony Brook’s turf. Alex Gustafson launched a home run in the first at bat of the game, putting the Crusaders up 1-0 early. Unfortunately for Holy Cross, that would be all its scoring for the day.
Maloney drove in Stony Brook’s first run with a bunt, bringing in freshman outfielder Shayla Giosia. Senior infielder Bernadette Tenuto also scored later in the inning after sophomore infielder Jessica Combs hit a single up the middle.
The Seawolves added another run in the second inning and two in the fourth, but the real damage came in the third inning. Stony Brook scored five runs in the inning. Tenuto led off the inning with a home run. Another error allowed sophomore Nicole Hagerty to score later in the inning. One at bat later, another two errors let Bianculli and sophomore catcher Nicole Schieferstein to score as well. Giosia later smacked a double to center field, which let Hawley scored. Mercifully for Holy Cross, that was the end for scoring in that inning.
Junior pitcher Taylor Chain finished off the game and won her second game of the season in the fifth inning. The game concluded because of a mercy rule allowing the home team to win if it leads by eight or more runs in the fifth inning.
Stony Brook’s two victories on Saturday come after its two defeats at the hands of Texas Tech University on Wednesday.
The Seawolves will next play Fairfield University on Wednesday in two away games. They will then return home to play University of Hartford in their first conference games of the season.
“There’s a coupe of really good teams,” Bryant said. “You have to make the most of the opportunities you have. You want to control your own destiny in the race.”
