BALTIMORE — Melissa Rahrich and the Stony Brook softball team awakened when it counted.

Rahrich blasted a two-run homer to ignite an eight-run first inning and the Seawolves slammed UAlbany, 10-5, on the opening day of the America East Tournament on Thursday.

Third-seeded Stony Brook will face top-seeded UMBC on Friday at 11 a.m. in a winners' bracket matchup, while UAlbany falls into an elimination game against UMass Lowell.

Stony Brook had been swept two weekends ago at UAlbany, then had lost two of three games against UMBC last weekend — including a winner-take-all game for the regular-season title on the final day of league play.

But the veteran-laded Seawolves pounced in the tourney opener. The eight runs were the most runs in a frame by any team in the America East tourney since Stony Brook posted 14 runs in a 16-1 win against UMBC back on May 8, 2014.

It also marked Stony Brook's highest output in an inning since a nine-run second against Wagner on April 2, 2019.

Rahrich, already the program's RBIs leader, had three hits. She moved within one hit of matching Kristen Brust's program record of 245, which she produced from 2002 through '05.

On Thursday, leadoff batter Jourdin Hering had two hits in the eight-run first.

Rahrich opened the scoring with a two-run homer.

Jordyn Nowakowski followed with an RBI double and Riley Craig, Julianna Sanzone and Hering all had run-scoring singles — Hering's driving in both Craig and Sanzone. Kyra McFarland then capped the eight-run frame with a sacrifice fly.

UAlbany did close with 8-4 in the third inning against Dawn Bodrug, but Nowakowski contributed a sacrifice fly during a two-run fifth that restored a six-run cushion.

"I think that we really came out and made a statement as a team and showed a little bit of what we can do," Rahrich said. "At the plate it felt great today, and starting out by putting us on the board in the first inning was an amazing feeling."