April 9, 2011

Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score

Orono, Me. - The Stony Brook softball team earned its first America East victory of the season with a 4-2 victory over Maine on Saturday afternoon. Maine prevailed in the second game of the day by a 13-5 margin, capitalizing on five Stony Brook errors to earn the split.

Senior Colleen Matthes (Severn, Md.) shut down the Black Bears' offense in the opener, scattering just three hits, while striking out six for her eighth win of the year. The senior did not concede a hit until the sixth inning and was given support on the scoreline in the form of four Stony Brook runs in the fifth inning.

Freshman Jessica Combs (Hammonton, N.J.) led off the frame with a triple, the Seawolves' first three-base hit of the season. Freshman Elise Fortier (Coventry, R.I.) followed with a single to left to break the 0-0 deadlock in Stony Brook's favor. Fortier then came around to score two batters later courtesy of an error by the second baseman. Four batters later, junior Lauren Maloney (Las Vegas, Nev.) ripped a double to plate junior Alyssa Hawley (Spokane, Wash.) and junior Suzanne Karath (Fishkill, N.Y.) to give the visitors a 4-0 cushion.

Maine (15-21, 6-2 AE) answered with a pair of runs in the sixth, but could get no closer as the Seawolves (11-18, 1-7 AE) hung on for their first conference victory of the season.

Game two started positively for Stony Brook as the Seawolves jumped out to a 5-1 lead after two innings. The team opened the game with four consecutive singles to grab a 1-0 lead, and then added two more on an RBI groundout by Combs and an RBI single by Fortier. In the second, junior Bernadette Tenuto singled in Hawley to make it 4-1, before Maloney raced home on a double-steal to add a fifth run.

Maine responded in a big way, however, scoring twice in the fourth, nine times in the fifth, and once in the sixth to bring the game to a halt after six innings. The Seawolves didn't help their own cause, committing two errors in both the fourth and fifth innings to finish with five miscues on the day. Of Maine's 13 runs, only four were earned, with two charged to Matthes and two to sophomore Taylor Chain (Gloucester, N.J.).

Despite losing the second game by a 13-5 margin, the Seawolves outhit the hosts, 11-10, receiving three hits apiece from Maloney and Hawley.

The teams will play a rubber match on Sunday starting at 11 a.m.