Stony Brook’s softball team (9-7) made a strong statement this weekend. Hosting the Stony Brook Invitational, the team swept through the competition, winning all four of its games against Yale, Quinnipiac, Holy Cross and Fairfield.
“It was good,” said Peter Featherston, who umpired at the invitational. “The teams were delightful. Good ballplayers. Good people.”
The Seawolves opened the invitational against Yale with a 3-0 victory. Junior pitcher Colleen Matthes (6-4) threw a shutout and gave up only four hits. Stony Brook scored all three of its runs in the second inning, two of which were the result of the double hit by senior infielder Vicki Kavitsky.
However, the Seawolves were not done for the day. In fact, their next game against Quinnipiac began right after their win over Yale. The starting pitcher for Stony Brook was senior Alyssa Struzenberg (7-4), who leads the team in victories and starts with seven and 11, respectively. Struzenberg flirted with a no-hitter, only giving up one hit in the sixth inning.
Stony Brook won the game 1-0, helped by good crunch time play. Kavitsky reached home with help from a single hit by senior Casey Jacobs, who started as the designated hitter.
Stony Brook won another shutout against Fairfield, 5-0, with Struzenberg notching another win under her belt. This time Struzenberg did throw a no-hitter, supported by senior left fielder Crista Cerrone’s home run in the fourth inning.
The most unpredictable game for Stony Brook for the weekend was Saturday’s extra-inning walk-off 4-3 win against the Holy Cross Crusaders. Holy Cross freshman catcher Alex Campione hit a solo home run to left field in the top of the second inning. The score remained 1-0 in favor of Holy Cross until the top of the fifth inning, where sophomore outfielder Nicole Ortiz hit another solo shot.
Stony Brook struck back in the bottom of the fifth, however, when senior catcher Jade Clare scored off a double hit by Cerrone. Cerrone subsequently scored the tying run in the bottom of the seventh when junior Brijette Martin hit a single up the middle with one out left.
Even though Holy Cross scored one run in the top of the ninth inning off a wild pitch, Stony Brook was able to rally again and score twice in the bottom of the inning. Kavitsky brought senior infielder Katelyn O’Donnell with a double, and she scored herself as the result of a double hit by Martin.
It was the team’s third win coming by just one run this year.
The Seawolves will ride their five game winning streak into their game against Rutgers on Wednesday, March 24, at home at 4 p.m.
