April 17, 2002

ON DECK: The Seawolves hope to get back on the winning track today in a crucial America East Conference matchup with Hartford. Stony Brook has won just three of its last 12 games.

SERIES HISTORY: The two teams met for the first time earlier this season at the Hokies Classic at Virginia Tech University. After falling behind 3-0, the Seawolves rallied to tie the score in the fifth inning, but Liz Borawski's base hit in the seventh gave the Hawks the 4-3 victory.

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

ABOUT THE HAWKS: The Hawks were 2-1-1 last week in non-conference action. Sophomore pitcher Jamie Graves had a strong week in improving her record to 4-0 on the season. She pitched a complete game win allowing just one earned run in a 4-1 win over Central Connecticut last week. She struck out six and walked none and allowed just three hits in the victory. In her second game of the week, a 4-4 tie against Fairfield, Graves pitched all 10 innings allowing no earned runs and striking out three while again walking none. She allowed seven hits in 10 innings. For the week, she allowed just one earned run in 17 innings while striking out nine and walking none. On the season, the sophomore has walked just one batter in 36 innings and allowed just four earned runs. Opponents are batting just .205 vs. Graves this season. Freshman Liz Borawski continued to perform well, batting .333 with four RBI on the week. All four of her RBI came with two outs in wins over Central Connecticut . She leads the team with 11 RBI on the season and is 5-for-6 in stolen base attempts on the year. She is second on the team in hitting with a .308 average and has hit safely in four of her last five and six of her last eight games.

FACING THE BEST: Hartford leads the America East in both team batting and team pitching. As a team, the Hawks are averaging .257 at the plate while Hartford's ERA of just 0.91 also ranks first. The Hawks have allowed a conference-low 99 hits on the year, 70 fewer than No. 2 Binghamton. Meanwhile, the Seawolves rank fifth in each category, hitting .219 with an ERA of 2.10.

ON THE MOUND: Today's game could come down to a pitcher's duel, and Hartford is certainly strong on the mound. Andi Miller and Jamie Graves are second and third, respectively, in the America East in ERA. Miller is 4-3, striking out 53, walking 18 and allowing 38 hits in 57.0 innings. More impressive is her ERA--just 0.74. Graves isn't far behind, posting an ERA of 0.78 in 36.0 innings. She is undefeated (4-0) on the year and has given up just one walk with 16 K's. Meanwhile, Stony Brook's Stephanie Poetzsch is also holding her own compared to the rest of the league. Poetzsch has a league-leading 171 strikeouts, 8.2 per game. She also has four shutouts to her credit, second-highest total in the league.

LAST TIME OUT: Binghamton took three of four games with the Seawolves last weekend as Stony Brook fell to 3-9 in the conference. On Sunday, the Bearcats used some late-inning heroics to sweep the doubleheader, winning the opener 2-1 in 10 innings before taking the nightcap with a 1-0, seven-inning walk off victory. In the first game, pitcher Margaret Yerdon broke a 1-1 tie with a one-out RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning. Yerdon also came through on the mound, pitching a complete game and surrendering one run on five hits while striking out eight batters. After nine scoreless innings, Stony Brook struck first as freshman Colleen McCarthy singled home a run in the top of the 10th inning. Binghamton, however, deadlocked the score in the bottom of the 10th inning on a RBI single by junior third baseman Jen Richardson. That set the stage for Yerdon's game-winning hit. In game two, Binghamton pitcher Mary Karen Wheat fired a one-hit shutout, while striking out six batters. Sweeney's RBI single in the seventh broke the scoreless tie and secured the win for the Bearcats.

GREAT AT THE PLATE: Although the Seawolves' hitting woes continued last weekend at Binghamton, shortstop Colleen McCarthy's performance was solid. The freshman drove in the gamewinning run in Stony Brook's only win in the series, a 1-0 victory. McCarthy was outstanding the next day as well, going 3-for-5, including a two-out RBI single that gave Stony Brook a 1-0 advantage in the top of the 10th inning in an eventual 2-1 loss. On the season, McCarthy is hitting .248 with 25 hits, the second-highest total on the team.

HOME NOT SO SWEET HOME: University Field has not been very friendly to the Seawolves lately, with Stony Brook losing six in a 10-game home stretch. The Seawolves have also been shut out in four of those losses. Overall, Stony Brook is 5-9 at home.

COMING UP EMPTY: The Seawolves have struggled to get runs on the board lately, with five of their last nine losses coming by way of shutout. In those games, Stony Brook has collected just seven hits. On the season, the Seawolves have nine losses in which they failed to score a run. In addition, the Seawolves have managed just one run in seven games this year, with a record of 3-4 in those contests.

AROUND THE AMERICA EAST: Kristen Brust's nine doubles and four homeruns both rank second in the America East statistics . . . Stephanie DiBiase's 19 runs scored is the third-highest total in the league, while her 12 stolen bases are second . . . in addition to her league-leading 171 strikeouts and second-highest total of four shutouts, Stephanie Poetzsch ranks third in wins (11), second in innings pitched (145.2), second in appearances (24), first in games started (20) and first in complete games (19).