May 11, 2001

Stony Brook, N.Y. - ECAC Tournament Notes: The Stony Brook softball team (21-21) will make its first-ever appearance in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships this weekend in Hanover, N.H. The Seawolves, seeded fourth, will face No. 1 seed and defending champion East Carolina (48-23). Rounding out the field are No. 2 Dartmouth (21-17) and No. 3 Columbia (25-23).

Stony Brook and East Carolina play the first game at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 12. The double-elimination tournament concludes with the championship game on Sunday, May 13, at 2 p.m.

Stony Brook vs. ECAC Field: The Seawolves have never met East Carolina, but they played Columbia in the last doubleheader of the regular season, coming away with 3-1 and 1-0 losses. SBU has faced Dartmouth only once in school history, with the Big Green coming away with a sweep last season.

Lucky 21: Stony Brook's 21 victories this season is the most ever in Seawolves softball history, bettering the previous high of 14 back in 1986. Not only that, Megan Bryant recorded the best debut season by a Stony Brook softball coach, earning her Stony Brook Coach of the Year honors and the team the Quantum Leap award for biggest turnaround.

The Seawolves have not finished .500 or better since the 14-10 slate in 1991.

Slumping Seawolves: Stony Brook dropped its last seven games of the regular season, with the Seawolves' last win coming against Marist on April 26. SBU beat the Red Foxes 4-3 as Stony Brook collected 10 hits including Tricia Lipareli's fourth homerun this season. But since then, the Seawolves have struggled to get the bats going, striking for just one hit in three out of their last four contests. SBU has also scored just one run in those seven losses.

Strikeout Stephanie: Junior Stephanie Poetzsch has had a very impressive year for the Seawolves this season. Setting new marks in career (336) and season (217) strikeouts--marks which she had previously broken in just one season--she has led Stony Brook to 14 of its 21 victories. Her 8.9 strikeouts a game is 19th-best in the country. She has posted an ERA of 1.95 in 170.1 innings pitched.

During the course of the season, Poetzsch has pitched two no-hitters, including a 2-0 win over Rider in which she struck out 15 batters, a new Stony Brook record. She has also won more games in a season than any pitcher in Stony Brook history, and has posted the highest number of season (6) and career (8) shutouts.

Poetzsch's success this season earned her Stony Brook Female Athlete of the Year honors, along with team MVP accolades.

Lipareli's List: Before the 2001 season began, Tricia Lipareli already held several Stony Brook records--most doubles in a season, most putouts in a season and career, and most at-bats in both a season and career. Lipareli has added to that list this season.

The senior set a new career record in singles with a total of 107, breaking the 17-year-old mark of 86 held by Lucille Giannuzzi. She also set a new career mark in hits with 157, which betters the old mark of 150 held by Lisa Repper. Not only that, she set new marks in most games played in a career (148) and most stolen bases in a season (15).

However, Lipareli still may not be finished with her assault on the Seawolves record book. She tied the career record for doubles at 34 back on April 21 and has this weekend to see if she can grab sole possession.

ECAC Tournament Schedule

Saturday, May 12:

Game 1: East Carolina (1) vs. Stony Brook (4) - 10 a.m.

Game 2: Dartmouth (2) vs. Columbia (3) - Noon

Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser - 2 p.m.

Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner - 4 p.m.

Sunday, May 13:

Semifinal winners - Time TBA