The Seawolves were in North Carolina this weekend participating in the N.C. State Wolfpack Challange, finishing the two day tournament with a win each against host N.C. State, Charleston Southern, and James Madison, and only one loss, coming against Fairfield University.
In the first match of the tournament, Stony Brook fell to the Fairfield University Stags, 4-1.
The lone run came on an RBI-double from junior first baseman,Bernadette Tenuto (Audubon, N.J.) in the third inning, which brought fellow junior Alyssa Hawley (Spokane, Wash.) home.
Stony Brook stranded five runners on base and fizzled down the stretch with consecutive one-two-three innings in the sixth and seventh to close out the game.
Sophomore Taylor Chain (Gloucester, N.J.) was handed her first loss of the season after giving up four earned runs over six hits, in four innings for the Seawolves.
Looking to rebound in its second game of the day, Stony Brook was able to edge the host school, N.C. State. 4-3, with back-to-back home-runs in the seventh inning from freshman Jessica Combs (Hammonton, N.J.) and then junior Lauren Maloney (Las Vegas, Nev.) who hit back-to-back solo shots to give Stony Brook the 4-3 lead, which would be enough for them to hold on for the win.
Senior pitcher Colleen Matthes (Severn, Md.) picked up her second win of the season, pitching a complete game and striking out a season-high seven Wolfpack batters.
Stony Brook took the early lead when sophomore Shannon O’Shea (Lake Worth, Fl.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring home an unearned run.
The Seawolves were not able to capitalize further as the N.C. State pitcher shut down the rest of the order to work herself out of the early jam.
The lead was short-lived for Stony Brook as N.C. State was able to take Matthes deep on a solo home run to tie the game at 1-all in the second inning.
N.C. State wasted no time to power ahead to take the lead in the very next inning after an error by the shortstop, Combs, and a wild pitch by Matthes caused two unearned runs, allowing the Wolfpack to take a 3-1 lead.
Stony Brook’s offense was temporarily stalled by N.C. State’s Kayla Cox, who struck out 12 Seawolf batters, but was unable to pick up the win due to Stony Brook’s big seventh inning in which they roared back to finish off the Wolfpack, 4-3.
The Seawolves second day of the Wolfpack Challenge proved to be a high note for the Seawolves as they won games against two teams with better records then them, 12-5 James Madison and 11-13 Charleston Southern.
In the first match of the day, sophomore hurler Taylor Chain took the mound for Stony Brook and was able to go the distance for the win.
Stony Brook hitters pounded Charleston Southern all game for a season high 12 hits on their way to a 8-3 victory.
The Seawolves showcased their offensive power early and often, starting in the top of the first inning when freshman Elise Fortier (Coventry, R.I.) doubled home Maloney, after Maloney singled and stole second.
Stony Brook’s Bernadette Tenuto and Gina Bianculli (Oakdale, N.Y.) were able to keep the Seawolf rally alive with RBI singles to extend the early lead to 3-0.
The Seawolves were able to capitalize on an illegal pitch by Charleston Southern, which allowed Alyssa Hawley to score after she was able to single and reach third on an error. Bianculli was able knock another run in for Stony Brook with a lead-off home run in the top of the third inning. Maloney added to the lead when she singled home freshman Nicole Schieferstein (Seaford, N.Y.) to make it 6-1 in favor of the Seawolves.
Tenuto was able to record her second RBI of the day, another single which brought Maloney home after she was able to single and steal again, finishing the game, 2-for-4 with three steals and an RBI.
After Bianculli laced a double to centerfield, she was able to score on a wild pitch, She finished 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, two RBI, and two runs for the Seawolves who took this game, 8-3.
In Stony Brook’s last game of the N.C. State Challenge, they took on the James Madison University Dukes (12-5) in what turned out to be a pitcher’s duel through the first few innings.
The Seawolves were able to break open a score-less tie in the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Stony Brook offense exploded for four runs over five hits starting with a lead-off single by Hawley.
A sacrifice bunt brought Hawley into scoring position.Fortier then crushed a ball into right centerfield for a RBI double.
After an error brought home Fortier, and junior Suzanne Karath (Fishkill, N.Y.) was able to record her first RBI of the tournament with a single to left center to score Tenuto.
Bianculli kept the rally going, adding an RBI single that would score Karath to give Stony Brook a commanding 4-0 lead.
James Madison was able to tack on two runs in the sixth inning off of Matthes, but thats all they would get as Matthes took over, striking out six to earn the win for the Seawolves. Matthes finished the weekend with a 1.31 ERA over 16 innings in which she struck out 13 to win both her decisions.
Stony Brook returns home to host the Stony Brook Invitational where they will take on Fairfield for a rematch and Holy Cross, twice in two days from March 19-20.
