PURPLE/GOLD CHALLENGE  |  Nashville, Tennessee
Fri., March 3	vs. Valparaiso  |  2 p.m.  |  Stats
Sat., March 4	vs. Eastern Illinois  |  11 a.m.  |  Stats	Lipscomb  |  4 p.m.  |  Stats
Sun., March 5	vs. Valparaiso  |  11 a.m.  |  Stats

 
STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- The Stony Brook softball team travels to Nashville for the Purple/Gold Challenge hosted by Lipscomb this weekend. Play will begin on Friday, March 3 and run through Sunday, March 5. The Seawolves will face Valparaiso in the first and last games of the weekend, matching up against Eastern Illinois and Lipscomb on Saturday.
 
Scouting the Seawolves
Stony Brook looks to bounce back this weekend after getting out to a 1-4 start in Madeira Beach, Florida, last weekend. The Seawolves went 1-1 on the first day of 2017 play, bouncing back to top Manhattan College 3-1 after falling in the first game to Detroit. They were unable to close out the tournament, dropping their final three games of opening weekend. Junior Caroline Seeberg (Warwick, N.Y.) tallied three RBI on three hits through the weekend, and all seven newcomers saw the field. 
 
The Opponents
The Seawolves will take on Valparaiso, Eastern Illinois and host school Lipscomb through the weekend. Valparaiso enters the weekend at 4-0 on the season after beginning the season at the Aggie Invitational last weekend. The Crusaders are coming off of their third Horizon League championship in the last five years. Valparaiso picked up a 5-4 win over fellow America East member UMBC, and also topped North Carolina A&T twice, as well as Howard.
   Eastern Illinois will be the first opponent of the say for the Seawolves on Saturday. The Panthers sit at 8-6 on the year, coming off of a 2-3 weekend at the Mississippi State Tournament. Mia Davis earned Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week this week after finishing play in Starkville going 10-for-16 at the plate.
   Lipscomb sits at 11-5 on the season, coming off of a 7-5 win over Wright State in its home opener Wednesday. The Lady Bisons finished the Troy Tournament with the 4-1 record before the midweek game, falling only to Pitt, 4-3, in the second to last game in the tournament.
 
Newcomers Debut
All seven newcomers made their Stony Brook debuts during opening weekend. Freshman Jourdin Hering (Federal Way, Wash.) led the group with six hits through the five games. Hering, along with classmate Melissa Rahrich (Brighton, Colo.) have started every game of their young careers. Rahrich debuted in the circle in game number two, picking up Stony Brook's only win of the weekend. She threw 11.2 innings through the weekend, fanning seven batters and giving up 13 hits.