MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. — Nine months ago in Hartford, the Stony Brook softball season ended two wins shy of an America East Championship.
On Friday afternoon in Madeira Beach, Fla., the 2020 edition takes its first step in pursuit of a title.
Led by two-time America East Player of the Year
Melissa Rahrich, the team steps onto the field for the first time this weekend, at The Spring Games.
Stony Brook opens its five-game jaunt to the Sunshine State against Colgate on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
"We are excited to get started with the schedule," coach Megan Bryant said. "We're excited to see where our team is at this time."
Stony Brook faces Columbia and Providence on Saturday and Georgetown and Cornell on Sunday before returning home.
The Seawolves were picked to finish first in the America East, earning 34 points and four first-place votes in the preseason poll.
The squad returns seven starters from a season ago. Along with Rahrich, second-team all-conference selections
Jourdin Hering and
Jordyn Nowakowski return for their senior campaigns.
"I'm so excited to finally be able to get out on the field and play," Rahrich said. "I think it's important for us to be relaxed, have fun and start our season in a position to continue to get better."
Rahrich had a dominant 2019 season both in the circle and the batter's box. The Colorado native had a career-best 2.09 ERA and 153 strikeouts en route to a 19-win season.
Offensively, Rahrich hit a conference-best 17 home runs and tallied a program-record 60 RBIs. The senior currently ranks third in program history in batting average (.411), fourth in home runs (32) and sixth in RBIs (122).
Hering is expected to shift over to center field for her senior senior. The Washington native had a career-most 55 hits in 2019.
Also in the outfield will be
Alina Lance. The senior started 50 games in 2019.
Nowakowski, the team's starting catcher, hit .278 with six homers a season ago.
Riley Craig,
Taylor Pechin and
Lindsey Osmer are expected to platoon in the corner infield in 2020. Craig started every game a season ago, hitting eight homers. Pechin made 37 starts and hit .280, while Osmer appeared in 42 games during her freshman season.
Middle infielders
Nicole McCarvill and
Taylor Juenke figure to see plenty of time in 2020 rounding out the infield.
The Seawolves tout a strong pitching staff. Joining Rahrich, 2019 all-rookie team member
Shelbi Denman returns for her sophomore season after winning 10 games in 2019. Junior-college transfer
Dawn Bodrug joins the staff after two seasons at Indian River State College, where she struck out 261 batters in 183 innings during her sophomore season.
The Seawolves will play in four tournaments, making trips to Florida, Maryland and Washington, before returning to New York for the Stony Brook Invitational March 21-22.
"We have been putting in a lot of work, and I'm stoked to see what this team is capable of," Rahrich said.
