March 5, 2011

Harvard Box Score

Florida Atlantic Box Score

Boca Raton, Fla - Behind stellar pitching and defense, the Stony Brook softball team earned a split on Saturday in Boca Raton, Fla., defeating Harvard, 4-0, and falling to host Florida Atlantic, 1-0. Sophomore Taylor Chain (Gloucester, N.J.) pitched a cpmplete-game shutout against the Crimson to earn her first victory of the season, while senior Colleen Matthes (Severn, Md.) went the distance against the Owls and allowed just one run.

The Seawolves jumped on Harvard (2-2) early and never looked back. Junior Alyssa Hawley (Spokane, Wash.) crossed home after a bases-loaded walk by freshman Jessica Combs (Hammonton, N.J.) in the bottom of the first to give Stony Brook a 1-0 advantage. The Seawolves tacked on two more runs in the third when junior Bernadette Tenuto (Audubon, N.J.) smacked a two-run homerun, Stony Brook's first homer of the season, to left-center field to give Chain some insurance on the scoreboard.

The sophomore took over from there, scattering just four hits (all singles) to frustrate a Harvard offense that had put up seven runs against Michigan State only hours earlier.

Stony Brook then added a final run in the fifth when Tenuto scored on an error by the first baseman off a ball hit by junior Lauren Maloney (Las Vegas, Nev.). Tenuto finished the game 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored.

"I thought that was a real quality win for us," Stony Brook head coach Megan Bryant said. "We played our best game of the season against a good opponent. We showed a lot of composure and we executed well, and obviously Taylor [Chain] threw very well."

The Seawolves proceeded to extend their shutout streak to 11 consecutive innings after holding the potent Florida Atlantic (7-9) offense scoreless through the first four innings of the nightcap. The scoreless streak was highlighted by two spectacular defensive plays, first by junior Suzanne Karath (Fishkill, N.Y.) and second by sophomore Gina Bianculli (Oakdale, N.Y.). In the bottom of the second, FAU's Ashlyn Parmenter tried to score from second on a single to right field, but Karath fired a missle from the outfield to gun down the runner at home to keep the game scoreless. Bianculli then flashed the leather in the third when she dove to catch a line drive at second and then doubled the runner off the bag to help Matthes work out of the jam.

The Owls finally broke through in the fifth, however, using a tricky baserunning maneuver to plate the game's lone run. With runners at the corners with no outs, the baserunner on first ran herself into an intentional rundown to give the runner on third enough time to steal home just ahead of the tag.

Stony Brook threatened to answer in the top of the seventh when Tenuto led off with a single, but the Seawolves could not advance her past second base against FAU pitcher Rose Gressley (nine strikeouts). Matthes finished the game with two strikeouts for the Seawolves.

"I was pretty pleased with our pitching," Bryant explained. "Especially so early in the season, these are good teams here, so I thought our pitching did well and our defense was fantastic."

Stony Brook will wrap up the Miken Classic on Sunday against South Carolina at 11 a.m.