Feb. 28, 2009

Syracuse Box Score
Western Michigan Box Score

Orlando, Fla. - Stony Brook University's softball team continued its hot start to the 2009 season with two victories on Saturday at the University of Central Florida Tournament in Orland, Florida. The Seawolves beat their second BIG EAST opponent of the season in Syracuse, 6-3, and then beat Western Michigan, 4-1, to improve to 4-0 on the season. Seniors Molly Kestranek (St. Mary's, Ga.) and Marissa Fleury (Mahopac, N.Y.) led the way for Stony Brook offensively, driving in three runs each.

In game one against Syracuse, the Seawolves followed yesterday's recipe for success and jumped out to an early lead. Stony Brook took advantage of two errors by the Orange to plate two runs, the second coming on an RBI single by Kestranek.

In the top of the third inning, senior Kelsi Fanelli (Audubon, N.J.) started things off with a double to leftfield. After stealing third, she scored on Kestranek's second RBI single of the game, to give the Seawolves a 3-0 lead.

Syracuse answered right back, however, stringing two singles and an RBI double together to start off the bottom half of the frame to pull within two. Junior Alyssa Struzenberg (Cooper City, Fla.) bounced back, though, striking out the next two batters and then inducing a groundout to end the inning.

Struzenberg then held the Orange scoreless over the next two innings while the offense went to work. Stony Brook plated a run in the fourth on Syracuse's third and fourth errors of the game and then used a two-out rally in the fifth to push across two more. Senior Kelly Oberto (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) knocked in one of the runs with a double to left-center and junior Kendall Blumenthal (Frederick, Md.) added an RBI single up the middle.

Syracuse scored twice in the sixth to pull within three, but that was as close as they would get as Struzenberg shut them out in the seventh to win her second game in as many tries this season.

Junior Vicki Kavitsky (Cherry Hill, N.J.) led off game two against Western Michigan with a single through the left side and scored two batters later when Fleury hit a home run over the right centerfield wall.

Seeing her first action of the season, junior Casey Jacobs (Davie, Fla.) retired the first seven batters she faced. It wasn't until the third inning that the Bronco's reached base on a one-out walk. After a steal and a wild pitch moved the runner to third, leadoff hitter Lexi Jager put Western Michigan on the scoreboard with a single through the left side.

That was the last run the Broncos would score, however, as Jacobs allowed just three hits over the final four innings. She recorded five strikeouts and had 11 outs come via groundball.

The Seawolves final game of the tournament will be tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. when they face Eastern Michigan.