Stony Brook, N.Y. - The Stony Brook softball team (21-13, 7-2 AE), winners of eight of its last nine games, plays a conference doubleheader against UMass Lowell (15-23, 4-7 AE) at University Field on Wednesday, Apr. 22, followed by a game at Seton Hall (17-24, 6-8 Big East) on Thursday, Apr. 23 at 4 p.m.   

Scouting the River Hawks

UMass Lowell is coming off a weekend sweep of Hartford to improve to 15-23 overall and 4-7 in conference play. They are led by Ariana Darcy and Vanessa Cooper. Darcy is hitting a team-best .308 with a .447 on-base pct. Cooper is hitting .288 with team-highs in home runs (3) and rbi (20). Erica Armenti and Marielle Handley have split the bulk of the innings in the circle. Handley has a team-high eight wins and 11 complete games, while Armenti boasts a team-low 3.64 era.

Scouting the Pirates

Seton Hall is 17-24 overall and 6-8 in Big East play. The Pirates have four starters hitting above .300. Alexis Walkden is the leader in virtually all offensive categories. She is hitting .373 with a team-high 16 home runs and 37 rbi. Sara Haefeli has added 13 home runs and 35 rbi. Danielle DeStaso is 8-11 in the circle with a 4.61 era and eight complete games.

Climbing the Record Book

Senior outfielder Bria Green (Wheatley Heights, N.Y.) is on pace for a record-setting senior season. She currently leads the America East in home runs (16), rbi (42), slugging pct. (.991), batting average (.444) and total bases (107). Not only is she among the America East statistical leaders, but she also ranks highly in many national rankings. Her .47 home runs/game is currently seventh-best in the country, while her slugging pct. ranks 9th.  She is just one home run shy of tying the Stony Brook single-season home run record (17) and 8 rbi shy of the school's single season rbi mark (50).

Power Up

The Stony Brook offense has posted impressive power numbers through the first half of the season, ranking first in the America East in home runs (45) and slugging pct. (.461). They have hit 39 home runs in their last 25 games and rank 23rd in the nation with an average of 1.32 home runs per game. The 2015 Seawovles are just three home runs shy of breaking the single season team home run record (47) with nine games remaining in the regular season. Green leads the conference with 146 home runs, while senior Shayla Giosia (Runnemede, N.J.) ranks second with nine. Nine different players have registered a home run this season.

Conference Domination

With two wins over the weekend at Maine, the Seawolves have now won 10 consecutive conference series. The last time they lost a conference series was in 2013, when they were swept by the Binghamton Bearcats. Since then, they are 25-4 in regular season conference games.

Surging Cukrov

Senior pitcher Allison Cukrov (Irvine, Calif.) is getting hot at the right time. She went 3-0 in three appearances last week, giving up just two runs in 21.1 innings pitched for an era of 0.66. She was outstanding in the Maine series, earning two wins and not allowing a run in 14.1 innings. She threw a three-hit complete game shutout against the Black Bears in the second game of the series, a 4-0 win. In game three, she relieved Jane Sallen in the second inning and didn't allow a run over the final 7 1/3 innings to lead the Seawolves to a 2-1 win in nine innings. She had 18 strikeouts in the three games. For her efforts, she was named the America East Pitcher  of the Week for the 12th time in her career.