MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. – The Stony Brook softball team finished the first of three days at the Madeira Beach Tournament with a 1-1 record. In their first game of the day, the Seawolves fell to Detroit Mercy 2-1, but bounced back in the second game, topping Manhattan College 3-1 at the Madeira Beach Complex Friday night.
 
Bryant's Reaction
"It was good to open the season with a solid first day," said head coach Megan T. Bryant. "We had our chance to win the first game, so it was great to come back and get the second one. We swung the bats well, Lexie [Shue] and Caroline [Seeberg] were outstanding. Melissa [Rahrich] got better as the game went on and was able to earn first collegiate win."
 
Game 1: Detroit Mercy 2, Stony Brook 1

• The Titans got on the board in the first inning as Cheyenne Willeford singled to left and advanced on a ground out before stealing third. Courtney Gilbert knocked a single into left field to send in the early run.
• The Seawolves allowed the first batter of the second inning to reach on an error and the next on a walk. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and Detroit's Sydney Pollock sent a single through the left side to make it a 2-0 game in the second inning.
• Stony Brook continued to battle back and got on the board in the third inning as sophomore Katelyn Corr (Suffield, Conn.) reached on a single to center field, advancing to second on an error. Junior Caroline Seeberg (Warwick, N.Y.) was able to bring her home with a single to left field.
• After three quick innings for both teams, Stony Brook tried to get it going in the top of the seventh as junior Ileana Torres (Debary, Fla.) came in to pinch hit and singled through the left side and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, but a line drive to the shortstop resulted in a double play to end the game.
• Junior Maddy Neales (Orange, Calif.) got the start for Stony Brook but was replaced by senior Alex Petrolia (Henderson, Nev.) after the second inning. Neales gave up two runs and three hits in the first two innings of the game. Petrolia allowed two hits but no runs, striking out two batters through four innings.
• Three newcomers, Jourdin Hering (LF) (Federal Way, Wash.), Melissa Rahrich (1B) (Brighton, Colo.) and Allyssa Malony (3B) (Runnemede, N.J.) earned starts in their collegiate debuts. 

Game 2: Stony Brook 3, Manhattan 1

• The Seawolves saw a similar start in the second game of the day, as Manhattan was able to get on the board in the first. Shannon Puthe hit a double down the third base line and advanced on an error before scoring on a pass ball to give Manhattan the early lead.
• Senior Lexie Shue (Lakewood, Calif.) tied things up in the third when she sent a solo home run over the left field wall.
• Stony Brook was able to take the lead in the sixth as sophomore Irene Rivera (Sylmar, Calif.) walked to start the inning. Malony came in to run for Rivera and she advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from freshman Riley Craig (Thornton, Colo.). Corr also walked to put two runners on for the Seawolves and quickly stole second. Seeberg tacked on two more RBI when she hit a one-out double to left center to give Stony Brook the lead.
• After playing first base in the opener, Rahrich made her pitching debut against the Jaspers, throwing a complete game and allowing just one run on six hits. She tallied five strikeouts.
• Freshmen Taylor Pechin (PH) (Harrington, Del.) and Craig (DP), along with sophomore transfer Ally Dabroski (B) (Cedar Grove, N.J.) made their debuts for the Seawolves in the second game. 

Up Next
The Seawolves remain at Madeira Beach for two more games on Saturday, Feb. 25. They will take on Harvard at 4 p.m., before facing Kent State at 6:30 p.m.