May 1, 2011
Box Score
Stony Brook, N.Y. - Despite scoring the first six runs of the game, the Stony Brook softball team dropped a heartbreaker against Binghamton by a score of 9-8 in eight innings on Sunday. Prior to the game, the Seawolves honored senior pitcher Colleen Matthes (Severn, Md.), who pitched in her final home game on Sunday.
The Seawolves' (19-25, 5-10 AE) bats exploded for six runs in the bottom of the first off Binghamton (21-19, 9-5 AE) starter Rhoda Marsteller. Junior Bernadette Tenuto (Audubon, N.J.) hammered a double into center field to score junior Alyssa Hawley (Spokane, Wash.) and junior Lauren Maloney (Las Vegas, Nev.) to make it 2-0. After a walk to sophomore Taylor Chain (Gloucester, N.J.), junior Suzanne Karath (Fishkill, N.Y.) bounced a single up the middle to score Tenuto to make it 3-0. Three batters later and with the bases loaded, sophomore Gina Bianculli (Oakdale, N.Y.) smoked another double to right-center to clear the bags and plate three more runs to give the Seawolves a commanding 6-0 lead.
Matthes comfortably retired the Bearcats in the first two innings to run her streak to 23 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Binghamton put an end to that in the third, however, as Deannie Plemon blasted a two-run homer over the left-centerfield fence to cut the deficit to 6-2.
In the fourth, Binghamton again used the longball to continue the comeback. After loading the bases, Demi Laney crushed a grand slam to left-center to tie the score and chase Matthes in favor of freshman Alex Clark (Warsaw, Va.).
Clark successfully tempered the Binghamton attack until the top of the seventh, when the Bearcats took the lead for the first time in the series. After the Bearcats put runners on first and second with one out, Chain entered for Clark to get the final two outs of the inning. After a walk loaded the bases, Chain got Shannon Kane to ground back to the pitcher for the force out at home. On the next batter, Chain did not get the call on a borderline strike on the outside corner and walked in the go-ahead run. Binghamton then added another on a fielding error to make it 8-6 heading to the bottom of the seventh.
The Seawolves went to work quickly, putting the first two runners on base courtesy of a hit-by-pitch and a Hawley single. Freshman Jessica Combs (Hammonton, N.J.) then delivered a clutch two-RBI double to right field to knot the score at 8-8. After a wild pitch, Combs advanced to third with no out, but the Seawolves could not capitalize as Laney fanned two batters and induced a pop up to end the frame.
Chain retired the first two batters of the eighth, but got into trouble after a hit-by-pitch and walk gave the Bearcats life. Mikala King then stepped into the box and drove the ball to center, where Hawley nearly made a spectacular diving catch to end the inning, but the ball bounced inches from the glove and allowed a run to score to put Binghamton ahead for good.
The loss dealt the Seawolves their first defeat of the week and snapped a five-game winning streak after sweeping Quinnipiac Wednesday and taking the first two games of the Binghamton series. Combs led the Seawolves with a .563 average (9-for-16) and six RBI over the past week. Matthes posted an impressive 3-0 record to go along with a 1.75 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 24 innings over the course of the week.
The Seawolves will wrap up the regular season this week with two games at Seton Hall on Tuesday and a three-game series at Albany over the weekend.
