April 10, 2002

ON DECK: The Seawolves, who have dropped four of their last five games, hope to get back on the winning track Thursday in a non-conference doubleheader with BIG EAST member Seton Hall.

SERIES HISTORY: The two teams met for the first time last year with the Pirates recording 5-0 and 9-2 victories for the sweep.

ON THE AIR: Today's games can be heard live on the Stony Brook University student station, WUSB 90.1 FM.

ABOUT THE PIRATES: Seton Hall has dropped three straight contests, but the Pirates had won 10 of 11 before that, including sweeps of BIG EAST rivals Connecticut and St. John's. Last weekend, Seton Hall split with Pittsburgh while Notre Dame allowed just five hits in sweeping SHU. Sophomore McKenzie Richards leads the Pirates with 29 hits and a .372 batting average, while freshman Laura Taylor is hitting .348 with 21 RBI. Pitchers Megan Meyer and Christina Shanro have both seen substantial playing time on the mound. Meyer is 7-4 with an ERA of 2.59 in 75.2 innings, while Shanro is 6-3 with a 3.00 ERA in 71 innings. Casey McDevitt has made nine appearances, allowing 11 earned runs in 25 innings (3.08 ERA).

LAST TIME OUT: After exploding for eight runs in game one of a doubleheader with Iona, Stony Brook managed just three hits in a 2-0 shutout loss to the Gaels in the nightcap to earn a split on Tuesday afternoon at University Field. The Seawolves scored in all but one inning in an 8-1 rout of Iona in game one. Stony Brook led 3-0 after two innings, but Iona got on the board with an RBI double by Alison Higgs in the third. However, a three-run fifth inning for the Seawolves halted any sort of Iona rally. Gaels pitcher Brisbane Vaillancourt walked Kristen Brust, who then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Shea Carpenter also reached on a walk, and a passed ball advanced both runners. The Gaels were unable to tag Brust at home after Amanda Staschuk's grounder, and Carpenter scored on a passed ball. Staschuk reached home on a wild pitch for a 7-1 advantage. In the nightcap, the Seawolves couldn't get the bats going against Iona's Amy Burdette. However, Iona struggled as well, failing to earn a hit until the fifth inning when an RBI single by Amanda Pucci broke the scoreless tie. The Gaels added another run in the seventh with Burdette's RBI single down the left field line. After collecting three hits in the first four innings, Stony Brook failed to connect for the remainder of the game en route to its fourth loss in five outings.

BATTER UP: Freshman first baseman Kristen Brust has been arguably the Seawolves' best hitter the past few games. In Tuesday's doubleheader, she was 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored to lead the way for Stony Brook. The Seawolves' offense stalled in Sunday's doubleheader with Boston University, but Brust collected two of Stony Brook's four hits on the afternoon. Brust, the only Seawolf to start all 29 games, now has a second-best batting average of .292. The team leader in hits (28) and homeruns (4), Brust also has 13 RBI to her credit and an impressive .981 fielding percentage.

ALL EYES ON FIVE: Freshman outfielder Stephanie DiBiase continues to impress. DiBiase, the Seawolves' best hitter wth a .313 average, collected two hits in Tuesday's doubleheader. Her RBI single in the second inning of game one led to a 3-0 SBU lead. She also scored two of Stony Brook's eight runs. The team's stolen base expert, DiBiase has yet to be caught stealing with a perfect 11-11 in stolen bases.

STRENGTH ON THE MOUND: Both Stephanie Poetzsch and Lindsey DeLaRosa gave strong performances for the Seawolves against Iona on Tuesday. Poetzsch picked up the 8-1 win in game one, allowing just four hits, no walks and striking out 11 for her 11th win on the year. Poetzsch has recorded 10 or more K's eight times this season, including a career-high and school-record 15 against Fairleigh Dickinson on April 4. In the nightcap, DeLaRosa (2-8) pitched four shutout innings before allowing two hits that led to Iona's two runs. She finished with five strikeouts and four walks in 6.2 innings.

COMING UP EMPTY: The Seawolves have struggled to get runs on the board lately, losing three of their last four games by way of shutouts. In those games, Stony Brook has collected just seven hits. On the season, the Seawolves have seven losses in which they failed to score a run.

PATCH NAMED ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Senior Stephanie Poetzsch earned Stony Brook Athlete of the Week honors after an outstanding performance in five games last week. Poetzsch earned two complete-game shutouts en route to a 3-2 record. Her first shutout of the week came against Fairleigh Dickinson in a 6-0 victory. In that game, Poetzsch allowed just three hits and struck out 15, which tied her own school record for most strikeouts in a single game. Poetzsch then helped Stony Brook hand BU its first conference loss, a 1-0 victory in the four-game series opener. She again gave up just three hits while striking out 13 and walking none. Poetzsch returned to the mound for the nightcap against the Terriers, a 3-2 loss in eight innings. On the day, Poetzsch struck out 23 batters, walked just one and allowed 12 hits in 15 innings. Poetzsch allowed four hits, struck out 12 and walked just one in a 1-0 loss to the Terriers the next day. She also earned a 3-1 non-conference win earlier in the week against Fairfield, allowing just five hits, no earned runs and striking out seven while walking one. On the season, Poetzsch is 10-8 with an ERA of 2.08. She has struck out 148 batters while allowing only 33 walks.