The Stony Brook softball team will be flying back to Long Island on cloud nine after winning all five of their games this weekend at The Spring Games. They cruised to victory in both of their games on Sunday, Feb. 23, beating the Georgetown Hoyas 2-1 in the morning and then shutting out the Cornell Big Red 7-0 in the afternoon. The road trip ended on a high note when junior pitcher Dawn Bodrug threw a perfect game against Cornell, the first perfect game for Stony Brook in eight years.
The day started in a deadlock, with the Hoyas and the Seawolves keeping each other scoreless for the first three innings of the 9 a.m. game. Georgetown scored first, however, off an RBI double by junior infielder Savannah Jones. That was the only run allowed by sophomore pitcher Shelbi Denman, who earned the win by pitching a complete game. She only gave up three hits while walking two batters and striking out six. Denman improved to 2-0 after also getting the win in her opening start.
Georgetown stayed on top until the bottom of the sixth when Stony Brook pulled off another comeback. Senior outfielder Jourdin Hering started with a leadoff double before senior pitcher Melissa Rahrich walked. Junior outfielder Danielle Petrovich replaced Rahrich as a pinch-runner, stealing second base after Hering reached third on a sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, senior catcher Jordyn Nowakowski launched a go-ahead, two-run double to left field and made it 2-1. Denman had a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh, sealing the victory for Stony Brook.
Junior pitcher London Diller started for the Hoyas, going 5-plus innings and only giving up one run. However, after giving up the lead-off double to Hering in the sixth she was replaced by sophomore pitcher Cassie Henning. She was charged with the Seawolves’ second run and was handed the loss, giving her a 1-5 record on the season.
The Seawolves had little time to celebrate, however, as they had their game against Cornell at 11:30 a.m. Catapulting off their previous victory, the Seawolves struck right away in the top of the first inning. After getting runners on first and second, Rahrich knocked an RBI double to right field to give Stony Brook a 1-0 lead.
Things remained quiet until the top of the sixth inning when Stony Brook scored a run off a throwing error by sophomore third baseman Olivia Rooney. Rahrich proceeded to hit an RBI double which was then followed by an RBI single by Nowakowski. All three runs were unearned because of the initial error.
In the next inning, the Seawolves offense came to life again and they replicated the sixth inning by scoring three more runs. With two outs and runners in scoring position, junior infielder Nicole McCarvill hit a bases-clearing double to left field and made it 6-0. Rahrich, the next batter, got her third RBI of the game on a single to center field. Rahrich was nearly unstoppable with the bat, finishing the game 4-5. McCarvill also had a three-RBI game, going 2-4 with a walk and three runs.
Bodrug was lights-out from the start, striking out the first eight batters she faced and ending the game with 15 strikeouts. She is the fourth Stony Brook player to toss a perfect game in the program’s Division I history and the only one to do it in a seven-inning game. The last perfect game was eight years ago when Allison Cukrov threw one against Manhattan on April 5, 2012 in a five-inning game. Bodrug’s win today improves her record to 3-0.
Senior pitcher Katie Lew started the game for the Big Red. She pitched a complete game but gave up seven walks and seven runs, four of which were earned. It was her first loss of the season, giving her a 0-1 record.
The Seawolves’ 5-0 start to the season is the program’s best start since 1991, while the all-time record is a 10-0 start during the 1982 season. It will not be long before they get back in action to try and keep this streak alive, however, as their next series will be next weekend in Jacksonville, Florida at the UNF Softball Complex for the Jacksonville University/University of North Florida Challenge. The Seawolves will have another packed weekend, playing five games in three days.
