On Tuesday, senior infielder Kim Ragazzo walked up to the plate and turned up the heat for the Stony Brook Softball team.
Her one-out, two-run single during a five-run third inning led the Seawolves to a victory over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights 11-3 at University Field on Tuesday afternoon.
“I go into every at-bat, every inning, every game with a similar approach,” Ragazzo said after going 3-4 with three runs batted in. “Get the ball in play and get my teammates home. Of course, I can’t get them home without them making it to base first.”
The third inning was the turning point for Stony Brook. Only leading by one run, Ragazzo’s hit to center field opened the floodgates. Stony Brook went on to score three more runs to increase its lead to 7-2.
“Our game plan was to come out and be aggressive,” head coach Megan Bryant said after the game. “Be aggressive and execute when at-bat. I thought our execution in that third inning was outstanding.”
The Seawolves got off to a quick start even before that. Within the game’s first four batters, the Seawolves were up 2-0 thanks to senior outfielder Diane Caruso and freshman catcher Irene Rivera. Both drove in runs during the first inning. However, they were not able to capitalize afterwards, as they left three men on base to end the inning.
“It’s all about getting better,” Bryant said. “We played well today, but there are always to clean up and work on even more.”
In the fourth inning, Fairleigh Dickinson showed that by driving home a run of its own. Yet, Stony Brook struck again. Ragazzo hit a double to drive home another run to bring the lead up to 8-3. The fifth inning started and Fairleigh Dickinson scored again, this time on a solo home run by sophomore catcher Madelaine Wilen. However, Stony Brook never let its opponent get any closer.
Senior pitcher Jane Sallen was able to pick up her ninth win of the season, throwing four innings while only surrendering two hits and two earned runs. Senior pitcher Alex Petrolia was able to come in for relief and only give up one run, the solo home run and one hit in an inning’s work.
Up next, Stony Brook heads west to Columbia to take on the Lions in a doubleheader on Wednesday at 3 p.m..
“We don’t ever try and change our game plan,” Ragazzo said ahead of their doubleheader. “The other jersey color doesn’t matter to us. Our gameplan is to come out strong and play our game.”
