March 9, 2012

Box Score

Fort Myers, Fla. - The Stony Brook softball team dominated its competition on the first day of the LaQuinta Inn and Suites Spring Break Tournament in Fort Myers, Fla., defeating Howard, 13-1, and St. Francis (Pa.), 10-3. The Seawolves have won four straight games heading into Saturday's action against Colgate and Utah.

Stony Brook (7-3) pounded out 14 hits against Howard and 13 vs. St. Francis as the Seawolves outscored their opponents 23-4 on Friday. Over the course of the Seawolves' current four-game winning streak, the team has outscored its opposition 36-4.

In Friday's opener against Howard, the Seawolves turned on the offense early and never relented. Run-scoring singles by senior Bernadette Tenuto (Audubon, N.J.) and junior Gina Bianculli (Oakdale, N.Y.) helped Stony Brook build a 4-0 lead after one.

The Seawolves then tacked on five more runs in the third to blow the game open. An infield single by senior Alyssa Hawley (Spokane, Wash.) made it 5-0, before senior Lauren Maloney (Las Vegas, Nev.) doubled in two more to put Stony Brook up seven. A costly fielding error then afforded the Seawolves two more runs before the inning ended to make it 9-0. 

Howard pulled a run back in the bottom of the third to make it 9-1, but Stony Brook continued its offensive assault with two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth to bring the game to an early conclusion. Sophomore Nicole Schieferstein (Seaford, N.Y.) hit her first-career triple to bring in Bianculli in the fourth to make it 10-1, and then Hawley scored Schieferstein with an RBI groundout to push the lead to 10 runs.

Sophomore Jessica Combs (Hammonton, N.J.) and junior Taylor Chain (Gloucester, N.J.) added RBI singles in the fifth to round out the scoring. Combs finished the game 1-for-3 with two RBI, three runs and a stolen base. As a team, the Seawolves were a perfect 6/6 on steal attempts vs. Howard, including two by senior Suzanne Karath (Fishkill, N.Y.), who went 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot.

Sophomore Alexandra Clark (Warsaw, Va.) started the game and got through two innings, before being replaced by freshman Allison Cukrov (Irvine, Calif.), who pitched three scoreless frames and earned her third win.

In the second game against St. Francis (5-6), Stony Brook again jumped out early to the tune of nine runs over the course of the first three innings. Freshman Shayla Giosia (Runnemede, N.J.) smacked her second home run of the season in the second inning, a two-run blast, to put the Seawolves up 4-0. For the second straight game, Stony Brook scored five runs in the third courtesy of RBI hits from Combs, Bianculli, Hawley and Karath.

Sophomore Christine Lucido (Melville, N.Y.) fired a complete-game and struck out five to push her record to 3-0 on the year.

Stony Brook was once again active on the basepaths in the second game, swiping five more bags, led by sophomore Nicole Hagerty (Sicklerville, N.J.), who registered two, including a steal of home in the third. Hagerty, Giosia, Tenuto and Hawley each registered two hits against the Red Flash.

The Seawolves are scheduled to face Colgate on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. and Pac-12 foe Utah at 8:15 p.m.