The Stony Brook softball team once again received outstanding starting pitching, but it continued to struggle to create runs as it lost two out of three games to Hartford this weekend.
The Seawolves split their pair of games on Saturday. They lost an 11 inning affair by the score of 1-0 before taking a 2-0 victory in the second game. Hartford finished the three game set with a 2-1 victory on Sunday.
The first game of the day was highlighted by two outstanding pitching performances. Stony Brook sophomore Allison Currov was dominant in the circle, going 10 2/3 innings before allowing a run. Cukrov, who won last week’s America East pitcher of the week award, also finished with seven strikeouts in the game.
Despite her terrific outing, she was outdueled by Hartford’s starting pitcher, Zuzana Kudernatschova. The Seawolves did not register a hit off Kudernatschova until the tenth inning and only finished with two over the entire 11 innings of play. Junior Nicole Hagerty and freshman Alexandra Pisciotta had Stony Brook’s two hits.
After getting the first out of the bottom of the eleventh, Cukrov allowed two walks and a single to load the bases. She then struck out the Hawks’ Melani Maxwell to put her team one out from keeping the marathon game going. But the next batter for Hartford, pinch hitter Chelsey Mooney, singled to right to drive in the winning run.
In game two of the day, Stony Brook junior pitcher Christine Lucido pitched seven shutout innings to give her team a victory. The Seawolves once again struggled mightily at the plate, only getting five hits in the game.
Stony Brook’s offense finally broke through in the fifth inning on a two run homer by senior Gina Bianculli. Before the home run, the Seawolves had gone nearly 16 straight innings on the day, without scoring a run. Bianculli went 2-for-3 in the game.
On Sunday, it was once again Kudernatschova shutting down the Seawolves offense. She picked up her second win of the series, going seven innings and only giving up a run on three hits. Overall during the weekend, she gave up just one run in 18 innings.
Freshman Jane Sallen pitched well for Stony Brook, giving her team five scoreless innings. The Seawolves held a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, thanks to an RBI hit by sophomore Shayla Giosia in the fifth.
But the bullpen could not hold the lead, giving up two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to lose the game. Amber Andrews had the walk-off two RBI single for Hartford.
With Stony Brook struggling to create runs as of late, they have relied heavily on their pitching staff to come through for them. They have not disappointed, as the Seawolves have given up two runs or less in their last nine games. Each team only scored a total of three runs a piece during the three game series.
The Seawolves’ games against Hartford were their first America East conference games of the season. The games were originally supposed to take place in West Hartford but were moved to Stony Brook due to poor field conditions.
Things did not go to schedule the entire week for the Seawolves, as their two games at Bryant University were cancelled due to weather on Wednesday.
Stony Brook now has a road matchup against LIU Brooklyn on Wednesday, before coming home on Thursday for a game against Fairfield.
