March 23, 2012
LIVE STATS: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Stony Brook, N.Y. - The Stony Brook softball team will look to extend its four-game winning streak this weekend when conference play begins against Hartford at University Field. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. and a single game on Sunday at noon.
Last Time Out
The Seawolves swept a pair of games at Fairfield on Wednesday by scores of 6-5 and 2-0. In the first game, senior Lauren Maloney (Las Vegas, Nev.) fell a single shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a solo home run and three runs. Freshman Shayla Giosia (Runnemede, N.J.) went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while freshman Allison Cukrov (Irvine, Calif.), the reigning America East Rookie of the Week, picked up the win in the circle. In the second, game, Giosia accounted for all the runs with a two-run homer in the sixth. Junior Taylor Chain (Gloucester, N.J.) tossed a complete-game shutout and struck out three to pick up her third win of the year.
Hartford
The Hawks enter the weekend with a 4-12 record, having played all 16 games on the road thus far. Hartford defeated George Mason twice at the GMU Invitational and knocked off Coastal Carolina and Colgate at the USF Spring Tournament. Catcher Peyton Fisher leads the Hawks with a .326 average to go along with a home run and six RBI. Siera Sheehan owns a team-best 2.45 ERA and has won all four games for the squad.
Fantastic Freshmen
A pair of first-year players, Giosia and Cukrov have played large roles in the team's early-season success. Giosia leads the team in hits (24), batting average (.381), home runs (3), RBI (16) and slugging percentage (.571) through 20 games. Cukrov has dominated in the circle, posting a 1.77 ERA, three shutouts and 77 strikeouts in 67.1 innings pitched.
Getting Offensive
Through 20 games, six Stony Brook players are hitting better than .300, while two players, seniors Bernadette Tenuto (Audubon, N.J.) and Alyssa Hawley (Spokane, Wash.) are just off that pace at .298 and .286, respectively.
Surging Staff
Led by Cukrov, the Seawolves' pitching staff has been a force to be reckoned with this season. Chain is 3-1 with a 2.28 ERA, while sophomore Christine Lucido (Melville, N.Y.) is 4-1 with a 2.44 ERA. Sophomore Alexandra Clark (Warsaw, Va.) has also added a win to go along with a 3.62 ERA. As a staff, Stony Brook owns a 2.15 ERA and is limiting opponents to a .224 batting average.
