VESTAL, N.Y. – Stony Brook softball split a pair of games on the first day of the America East Championship tournament at the Bearcat Softball Complex.
The No. 3 Seawolves (17-28, 9-7 AE) first fell to No. 6 Hartford by the final score of 2-1, then topped No. 5 UMBC in an elimination game, 3-0, on a walk-off home run from
Irene Rivera (Sylmar, Calif.) in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Rivera's home run – her eighth of the season – came with two outs and runners on first and second. Her walk-off sends the Seawolves to a 4 p.m. game on Thursday vs. the loser of either the first or second game of the day (lowest seed).
Freshman
Melissa Rahrich (Brighton, Colo.) pitched all 7.0 innings in both of Stony Brook's games. In total, Rahrich worked 14.0 innings on the day, giving up just 11 hits and two runs to go with 10 strikeouts.
Quoting Head Coach Megan T. Bryant
"Day one really wasn't how we drew it up. We didn't make the offensive adjustments we needed to in the first game. [Rahrich] gave us a chance to win that game. It was good to see the team bounce back, and to fight. Like we said when we started the tournament: fight, win, advance."
Game 1: Hartford 2, Stony Brook 1
- Melissa Rahrich (Brighton, Colo.) and Jourdin Hering (Federal Way, Wash.) both had two hits at the plate. Rahrich now has a four-game hitting streak, while Hering has hit safely the last three contests.
- Rahrich tossed a complete game in the circle, giving up just seven hits and two earned runs with six strikeouts over 7.0 innings.
- Allyssa Malony (Runnemede, N.J.) drove in the Seawolves' lone run, lifting a sacrifice fly to right field in the bottom of the sixth inning to plate Hering. The RBI is her ninth of 2017.
- Katelyn Corr (Suffield, Conn.), Lexie Shue (Lakewood, Calif.) and Chelsea Evans (Merced, Calif.) all chipped in with a hit.
Game 2: Stony Brook 3, UMBC 0
- Melissa Rahrich (Brighton, Colo.) tossed her second complete-game of the day, giving up four hits and no runs over 7.0 innings. She also led the way at the plate, going 3-for-4.
- Both Irene Rivera (Sylmar, Calif.) and Katelyn Corr (Suffield, Conn.) went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
On Deck
Stony Brook is back in action tomorrow (Thursday, May 11) at 4 p.m. The Seawolves will face the loser of either the first or second game of the day (lowest seed) in an elimination game at the Bearcat Softball Complex.