March 12, 2012

Cambridge, Mass. - A pair of freshmen on the Stony Brook softball team were honored by the America East on Monday as Allison Cukrov (Irvine, Calif.) garnered her second straight Pitcher of the Week nod, while Shayla Giosia (Runnemede, N.J.) was recognized as the Rookie of the Week. Cukrov and Giosia helped the Seawolves post a 5-1 record over the weekend in Fort Myers, Fla.

Cukrov was dominant in all three appearances in Florida, posting a 2-1 record with a 0.41 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched. Cukrov came on in relief against Howard on Friday and tossed three scoreless innings to pick up a victory in a 13-1 Seawolves win. The next day, Cukrov struck out a career-high 12 batters and fired an eight-inning shutout against Utah as Stony Brook picked up its first-ever win against a Pac-10/12 opponent. Cukrov returned to the circle on Sunday and was a hard-luck loser against tournament host Florida Gulf Coast as she allowed only one run, while striking out seven in a 1-0 defeat.

On the season, Cukrov leads the team with a 1.66 ERA and is tied with sophomore Christine Lucido (Melville, N.Y.) with a team-high four wins. As a staff, Stony Brook's pitchers have 74 strikeouts thus far, 57 of which belong to Cukrov, who is currently averaging 8.14 strikeouts per seven innings.

Giosia also played an integral role in Stony Brook's success over the weekend, batting .368 (7-for-19) with a home run, three RBI and five runs scored. Giosia cracked her second-career homer against St. Francis (Pa.) on Friday, a two-run shot, as the Seawolves won by a score of 10-3. Giosia also had multiple hits against Colgate (2-for-5) and Florida Gulf Coast (2-for-3).

A .318 hitter this year, Giosia leads the team with two home runs, 10 RBI, 13 runs scored and a .477 slugging percentage. Giosia has swiped two bags so far and has yet to commit an error in the field.

Stony Brook (10-4) will open the home portion of its schedule on Wednesday with a doubleheader against Texas Tech starting at 2 p.m.