While the students were away on their spring breaks, the Stony Brook Softball team was red-hot, winning five of their six games played over the break.
The Seawolves hosted the Stony Brook Invitational over the first weekend, March 15 and 16 but Mother Nature played a role, cancelling Saturday’s action.
They would start their home stand on Sunday, playing two of what would be six in a row by weeks’ end, and both against Sacred Heart came right down to the wire.
Sophomore Jessica Zeilman sent a solo shot over the center field wall in the bottom of the sixth, giving the Seawolves a victory 4-3 in the first game and freshman Lexie Shue lined a three-run home run over the left field wall which tied the second game at three in the bottom of the seventh.
The start of the first game was good for the Seawolves, as Nicole Schieferstein had a two-out, two-run double in the second, putting the home team up 2-0. Bria Green would add a sacrifice fly in the third to put Stony Brook up 3-0.
It was in the sixth that Sacred Heart would make their run, putting up three to tie the game. It was then in the bottom half that Zeilman would crush the first pitch she saw for the game winning run.
In the second game, the Seawolves were stone cold against Pioneers’ starter Jamie Carlson, who would only allow the Seawolves to four hits in six innings. Stony Brook made their run in the seventh however, with Kellie Reynolds and Kat Zabielski each reaching base with infield singles before Shue’s game-tying home run.
Jessica Combs initially reached after getting hit by reliever Kacie Wentworth, and would then score from second on Green’s walk-off double down the left-field line.
Next up was regional rival LIU Brooklyn for Stony Brook, and it was a good old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. Both Jane Sallen and Allison Cukrov combined to allow LIU Brooklyn to five hits throughout the game.
Green started the scoring for the Seawolves, striking a double to right-center, scoring Combs in the bottom of the first.
The Blackbirds would come back in the top of the fourth with an RBI single to tie the game.
Combs came up big again, scoring the winning run. This time, nobody had to drive her in, as she took a 2-2 pitch over the wall and Stony Brook would win its third in a row.
The red-hot Seawolves would not stop there as they went into a weekend series with rival Albany. Cukrov had a solid effort, allowing two runs and six hits in a complete-game effort. The Seawolves started slow, but Green would spark a rally in the fourth and fifth innings.
She hit her fourth homer of the season to cut the Great Danes lead in half, making it 2-1.
The bulk of the rally came in the fifth, when Olivia Mintun drove in a run with the bases loaded on a fielders’ choice, tying the game. Shayla Giosia would give the Seawolves the lead for good with an RBI single through the left side of the infield. Green would then double the lead with another fielders’ choice, putting Stony Brook up with its final lead, 4-2.
The Seawolves would lose the second game 7-3 in a game that their rivals led start to finish. The Great Danes would put up four runs, three in the first and one in the third, before Stony Brook could even get on the board.
Zeilman singled to left, and Reynolds singled to the shortstop in the bottom of the third to cut the lead in half at 4-2. Albany would answer with runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth to put the game away and tie the series.
Green reached on a fielder’s choice, but it was too little, too late and the Seawolves’ five-game winning streak had come to an end.
Mintun played a big role in the rubber match on Sunday, playing very well and providing three of Stony Brook’s five runs in a 5-4 victory.
Mintun started by reaching on an error in the first, which scored Combs to put the Seawolves up 1-0.
Albany scored twice in the third to take a 2-1 lead, and Mintun answered in the bottom half, with a solo shot to center tying the game at two. Every time Albany had a call, Mintun would answer it.
It happened again in the fifth, when the Great Danes scored in the top half, Mintun singled in Combs, tying the game yet again at three.
The back and forth game went right to the wire, and the Seawolves were able to answer and get the victory in the bottom of the seventh with two runs.
Melissa Phelan singled to the pitcher to tie the game in the final frame, and Zeilman singled to right to win the game and the series for Stony Brook.
The Seawolves start a six-game road trip at Iona on March 26, and will look to stay hot as they have won six of their last seven games.
