April 18, 2002

ON DECK: The Seawolves take a break from America East Conference play today against local rival Sacred Heart. Stony Brook comes off two key victories over conference foe Hartford yesterday.

SERIES HISTORY: The Pioneers lead the all-time series 5-4 and have won four of the last five matchups. The teams split last season, with the Seawolves winning 6-0, but dropping a 2-0 setback.

ABOUT THE PIONEERS: The Pioneers were swept by Iona yesterday, as the Gaels won 5-1 and 3-2. Sacred Heart had a 2-1 lead in the nightcap, but a two-out, two-run homer by Iona's Danielle Grasso in the sixth inning led Iona to the sweep. Third baseman Pam Vuijst was 4-for-5 with two RBI on the afternoon to lead the Pioneers at the plate. In game one, Michele Walker picked up the loss, allowing 12 hits, five runs and two walks with three strikeouts. Stacey Garrity was credited with the second loss, allowing seven hits, three runs and one walk with two strikeouts. Walker leads the Pioneers with a .288 average, while senior shortstop Katie Marien is next at .281. Vuijst leads the team with 17 RBI.

LAST TIME OUT: Behind the outstanding pitching of Stephanie Poetzsch and timely hitting, Stony Brook earned a sweep over America East Conference rival Hartford in a doubleheader at University Field on Wednesday afternoon. The Seawolves shut out the Hawks, 3-0, in game one, and Stony Brook came away with a 5-4 extra-inning victory in the nightcap. Stony Brook (16-21, 5-9 America East) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first game, as Stephanie DiBiase cranked her fourth homerun of the year in the third inning for the early lead. Four batters later, Jane Stein's RBI single to center field sent Kristen Brust across home plate. DiBiase struck again in the fourth with a two-out RBI single that plated Cass Broadwater. The Hawks (12-9-1, 5-5 America East) managed just two hits against Poetzsch, who earned her fifth shutout. Poetzsch walked just two batters and struck out eight in seven innings. Stony Brook got out to a quick start in the nightcap as well, opening up a 1-0 lead after the first inning. Stein's two-out single to left center field scored Amanda Staschuk and Kristen Brust to get the Seawolves going. But the Hawks battled back, scoring four unanswered runs to take the lead. Amy Sullivan's sacrifice fly and Kim Schwimmer's RBI single in the fourth inning evened the game at 2-2, and Hartford pulled ahead in the sixth with Schwimmer's two-run single before Poetzsch was sent in for Lindsey DeLaRosa to stop the bleeding. The Seawolves countered with a rally of their own in the bottom of the inning. Brust led off with a base hit up the middle, and two batters later Stein singled up the middle to send her home. Three batters later, Broadwater's two-out base hit to right field tied the game once again at 4-4. The Hawks got the bats going in the eighth and capitalized on a Stony Brook error to load the bases with just one out. However, Poetzsch pitched out of the jam, as Ryan Williams struck out and Bryn Weller's grounder was fielded easily by Poetzsch. Staschuk's lead-off double in the eighth got the Seawolves' hopes up, but it wasn't until the ninth inning that the Seawolves put the game away. Broadwater took the first pitch from Liz Nadeau and sent it over the left center field fence to give Stony Brook the 5-4 comeback victory. Poetzsch (13-11) picked up her second win of the afternoon, allowing just three hits, no runs and no walks while striking out three in 3 and one-third innings.

SWING BATTER BATTER SWING: The Seawolves broke out of a recent hitting slump against Hartford, exploding for 16 hits on the day. Jane Stein was a stellar 4-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored in the two games combined, while Amanda Staschuk was 3-for-6 with a run scored. Stephanie DiBiase was the star in game one with a 3-for-3, two-RBI performance, while Cass Broadwater's gamewinning solo homerun in game two capped off a 3-for-4, two-RBI outing.

BORN TO RUN: Stony Brook's eight runs yesterday are the most for the Seawolves in a doubleheader since SBU tallied 10 in a sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson on April 4. The Seawolves have two doubleheader sweeps on the year--yesterday's over Hartford and the April 4 wins over FDU.

HOMER WATCH: Both Stephanie DiBiase and Cass Broadwater hit homeruns yesterday to give Stony Brook 17 on the year, the highest total in the program's history. Broadwater's dinger, the second of her career and first this season, gave the Seawolves a 5-4 comeback win in nine innings. Meanwhile, DiBiase belted her fourth of the year, which makes DiBiase the team's co-leader in homers along with Kristen Brust.

COMING BACK IN EXTRA INNINGS: The Seawolves' 5-4 victory in nine innings yesterday marked the second time this year Stony Brook has earned a win in extra innings. The Seawolves are now 2-4 on the year in extra-inning games.

SHUTOUT STEPHANIE: Stephanie Poetzsch's fifth shutout of the season yesterday gives her 13 in her career, a Stony Brook record. In addition, she is just one shutout short of her own single-season record of six. Poetzsch is also tied for first in the conference in shutouts.

PATCH OF RECORDS: Stephanie Poetzsch's two wins yesterday on the mound give her 30 in her three-year career, just one short of tying the school record of 31. Poetzsch also needs just one more win this year to equal her own single-season record of 14 victories, set last season. Poetzsch has 192 strikeouts on the year and needs just 39 K's to break her own single-season record of 231.