March 12, 2011

Charleston Southern Box Score

James Madison Box Score

 

Raleigh, N.C. - The Stony Brook softball team earned a pair of victories on Saturday at the NC State Wolfpack Challenge, knocking off Charleston Southern, 8-3, and James Madison, 4-2, to finish the weekend with a 3-1 record. The Seawolves have now won three games in a row after defeating NC State on Friday.

Stony Brook (5-8) received great pitching performances in both games as sophomore Taylor Chain (Gloucester, N.J.) took the ball and went the distance against Charleston Southern, while senior Colleen Matthes (Severn, Md.)  tossed a complete game against James Madison.

Chain (two strikeouts) got plenty of offensive support against Charleston Southern (11-13) as Stony Brook pounded out a season-high 14 hits. The top five hitters in the Seawolves' lineup (Alyssa Hawley, Lauren Maloney, Elise Fortier, Bernadette Tenuto, Jessica Combs) all had two hits, but the top performance of the game belonged to sophomore Gina Bianculli (Oakdale, N.Y.), who went 3-for-4 with a homerun, a double, two RBI and two runs. Maloney added to a 2-for-4 day at the plate with three stolen bases and two runs as well.

Fortier gave Stony Brook the lead in the top of the first with an RBI double, and then scored when Tenuto singled in the ensuing at-bat. Bianculli then brought Tenuto home with a two-out single to put the Seawolves ahead 3-0.

Stony Brook tacked on a run in the second when Hawley trotted home courtesy of an illegal pitch. Bianculli then added to the advantage with a solo shot in the third, before Maloney knocked home freshman Nicole Schieferstein (Seaford, N.Y.) with an RBI single to make it 6-1.

Tenuto added her second RBI single of the game in the sixth when she plated Maloney, who led off with an infield single and followed with a stolen base. Bianculli concluded her stellar game with a one-out double in the seventh and came around to score after a wild pitch and an error.

In the second game against James Madison (12-5), Stony Brook broke open a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth with a four-run outburst. Fortier again accounted for the Seawolves' first run, when she doubled in Hawley. Fortier then crossed the plate on an error, before junior Suzanne Karath (Fishkill, N.Y.)  ripped an RBI single to left-center to score Tenuto. Bianculli added yet another RBI hit when she singled home Karath to put Stony Brook up 4-0.

Matthes took over from there, allowing just two runs on four hits, while striking out six for her third win of the year. The senior finished the weekend with a 1.31 ERA in 16 innings with 13 strikeouts and a 2-0 record. At the plate, Fortier, Tenuto and Combs each hit .417 (all 5-for-12) in four games at the competition.

Stony Brook will return home for its first home action of the 2011 season on March 19-20 when it welcomes Fairfield and Holy Cross for the Stony Brook Invitational.