April 23, 2002

ON DECK: The Seawolves (20-21) are riding a six-game winning streak into Wednesday's doubleheader with Hartford. The Seawolves' remaining America East Conference games are crucial to Stony Brook's hopes of making the conference tournament. The Seawolves then face a non-conference matchup with Fordham on Thursday.

SERIES HISTORY: Stony Brook swept Hartford in a doubleheader last week in the first meeting between the two teams. The Hawks fell by scores of 3-0 and 5-4 in nine innings. The Seawolves have never faced Fordham.

ABOUT THE HAWKS: Hartford (15-10-1, 8-6 America East) won three of a four-game series with Vermont last weekend, climbing to second in the conference standings. Player of the Week Liz Nadeau was outstanding for the Hawks last week, hitting 10-for-20 with seven RBI and posting a 2-1 mark with an O.88 ERA on the mound. Nadeau (6-5) has an ERA of just 1.27 in 77 innings, and her .383 batting average leads the team. Monica Evrard is hitting .329 with a team-leading 13 RBI.

ABOUT THE RAMS: Fordham (13-34, 3-12 Atlantic 10) won two of a three-game series with LaSalle last weekend. Freshman Liz Curley's average of .308 leads the Rams, while Carol Fischer has a team-high 14 RBI on the year. Fischer has also seen the most action for the Rams on the mound, pitching 126 innings with an ERA of 2.72 and a record of 9-12.

AN EYE ON THE AMERICA EAST: The top four teams in the America East Conference standings after the regular season advance to the conference tournament, May 9-11 at the University of Vermont. Right now, the Seawolves sit in sixth place, but with 10 conference games remaining the race for the tournament seeds is far from over. Boston University, which has a strong hold on first place with a 16-2 record, has already clinched a tournament berth.

POETZSCH PITCHER OF THE WEEK: After a 4-0 week with three shutouts, Stephanie Poetzsch earned America East Pitcher of the Week honors last week. The senior earned both wins in a sweep of Hartford last week, striking out eight and allowing just two hits in a 3-0 complete-game shutout. She then pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in relief in a 5-4 extra-inning victory. In a 2-0 win over Sacred Heart, Poetzsch allowed four hits with 12 strikeouts and no walks, then earned a 2-0 victory against Marist to become the all-time leader in wins in Stony Brook softball history. Against the Red Foxes, she allowed just four hits and struck out 10 to earn her seventh shutout of the season.

SIMPLY THE BEST: Stephanie Poetzsch earned her 32nd career victory against Marist last week to become the program's all-time leader in that category. In just her third season, Poetzsch eclipsed the total of 31 victories by Rosemarie Molinelli from 1986-89. In addition, the win was Poetzsch's 15th on the year, breaking her own single-season mark of 14 set last year. On the season, Poetzsch has an ERA of just 1.84 in 181.1 innings to go along with 220 strikeouts and just 44 walks.

LAST TIME OUT: Stony Brook recorded its third straight sweep on Sunday, defeating Marist 2-0 and 8-5. In game one the two teams managed only two hits a piece in the first five innings as neither team scored a run. Stony Brook then broke through in the top of the sixth on an RBI single from Amanda Staschuk to make the score 1-0. In the seventh, Cass Broadwater added a leadoff homerun for the final 2-0 margin. In game two the Seawolves torched starting pitcher Danielle Blake for five runs in the first inning to jump out to an early lead. Shea Carpenter's three-run homer gave Stony Brook a 5-0 edge before the Red Foxes rallied for two runs in the third inning, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Stony Brook added a run in the top half of the fifth on Jane Stein's RBI single before Marist plated two more runs in the bottom half of the inning. However, in the sixth inning, the Seawolves earned some insurance when senior Lisa Notaro hit her first career homerun, a two-run shot that put the Seawolves ahead 8-4. Lindsay DeLaRosa (5-10) picked up the win, allowing eight hits and four runs in five innings.

ON THE SIX: Stony Brook's six-game winning streak equals its longest string of consecutive victories since 1988, when the Seawolves won eight straight games. Stony Brook also won six straight last season.

NEARING A MILESTONE: With two more victories, the Seawolves will set a new all-time record for most wins in a season. Last year, first-year coach Megan Bryant led Stony Brook to a 21-23 record, the most wins in a season since 1991, when the Seawolves went 14-10. That is also the last year Stony Brook finished above .500.

J-MONEY PAYS OFF: Jane Stein had a stellar week for the Seawolves last week with seven hits in 16 at-bats (.438) in addition to six RBI in the Seawolves' six wins last week. On Sunday against Marist, Stein was 2-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored. She was also outstanding in the sweep over Hartford, going 4-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored in the two games combined. On the season, Stein is fourth on the team with a .255 average, while her 15 RBI is the second-highest total.

DiBIASE DOLES IT OUT: Freshman Stephanie DiBiase had a hot bat last week with nine hits in 20 trips to the plate (.450), including her fourth homerun of ht eyear. On Sunday against Marist, she was 4-for-8 with a run scored as the Seawolves swept the Red Foxes. DiBiase is the team's best hitter with a .301 average on the year. She has also collected 13 RBI and a team-high 22 runs scored.

NO RUNS ALLOWED: The Seawolves' opponents have had a tough time lately putting runs on the board, with Stony Brook earning a shutout in four of its six wins last week. Stephanie Poetzsch earned three of those shutouts, giving her seven on the season which breaks her own single-season record of six set last year. Poetzsch also holds the career record with 15 shutouts.

HOMER WATCH: The Seawolves collected three homeruns in Sunday's games, giving them 22 on the year which is nearly double last year's total of 12, the previous single-season record. In the 8-5 win, Shea Carpenter belted a three-run dinger for her second of the season, while Lisa Notaro's two-run shot marked the first homerun of her collegiate career. Cass Broadwater also had a solo homerun, her second of the year, in the 3-0 victory. Stephanie DiBiase, Kristen Brust and Jane Stein, who have each hit four homers this season, all need just one to equal the Stony Brook single-season record of five.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: Several Seawolves have made their mark in the America East statistics. Kristen Brust's 13 doubles lead the league, while Stephanie DiBiase's 14 stolen bases rank second. Stephanie Poetzsch leads the conference in six pitching categories: wins (15), innings pitched (181.1), strikeouts (220), games started (24), shutouts (7) and complete games (23).

EYE ON THE RECORD BOOKS: Stephanie Poetzsch has 220 strikeouts on the year and needs just 12 K's to break her own single-season record of 231 . . . Kristen Brust's two doubles against Marist gives her 13 on the year, which equals the single-season record held by Tricia Lipareli . . . Stephanie DiBiase needs one more stolen base to equal the single-season record of 15, DiBiase has 14 stolen bases in just 16 attempts . . . Lindsey DeLaRosa's 128 career strikeouts rank third all-time . . . DeLaRosa also has seven career shutouts.