March 1, 2008

Game 1 Game 2

Charleston, S.C. - Stony Brook's baseball team got its 2008 season started on the right note today as the Seawolves swept Charleston Southern by scores of 6-4 and 5-3. Freshman Nick Thode (Huntington Station, N.Y.) hit a home run and drove in three while senior Tom Koehler (New Rochelle, N.Y.) allowed just four hits and struck out nine to pick up the win in the opener. In game two junior Chad Rebecca (Mount Prospect, Ill.) and sophomore Robert Dyer (Selden, N.Y.) each drove in a pair of runs for the Seawolves.

Stony Brook (2-0) got things going in the fourth in game one when Thode launched his first career home run after sophomore Michael Stephan (Patchogue-Medford, N.Y.) led off the inning by being hit by the pitch. After Charleston Southern (1-5) scored in the bottom of the inning, Thode came through again in the top of the fifth, singling home junior Brian Witkowski (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) to make it 3-1.

Ahead 3-2, Stony Brook got what proved to be the winning runs in the seventh when it scored three times. After a Stephan walk and Thode infield single started the inning, sophomore Jeremy Nowak (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) singled to left to bring in the first run. Later with the bases loaded Dyer lashed one to right center, scoring a pair that put SBU on top, 6-2.

Charleston Southern threatened in the bottom of the ninth, taking advantage of a pair of errors that led to a pair of runs. With two on and one away Nowak came in from right to pitch and put the fire out by getting a ground out and a strike out to earn the save. Koehler (1-0) picked up his first win, allowing just the four hits in six innings of work.

Stony Brook scored first again in game two, getting an RBI single from junior Steven Mazzurco (Newfield, N.Y.) to open the scoring in the fourth. The Buccaneers tied it back up in the bottom half of the inning, getting an RBI double from Derek Smith.

It remained tied at 1-1 until the seventh when the Seawolves came up with four runs to clinch it. Loading the bases on a hit batter, walk and infield hit to start the inning, Rebecca followed with a double to right that plated two runners and chased the CSU pitcher. The Buccaneers got two outs without allowing a run, but Dyer came up with the big two-out hit, singling to left with the bases still loaded to score two more.

Senior Gary Novakowski (Prospect, Conn.) started on the mound for Stony Brook, allowing just the one run over the first six innings. The Buccaneers got one more against him in the bottom of the seventh to make it 5-2, bringing junior Michael Barbot (Bronx, N.Y.) out of the bullpen. He did the job, allowing just two hits and a run over the final two and two-thirds innings to pick up the save for Novakowski (1-0).

Dyer finished the day going a combined 4-for-8 with four RBI to lead the Seawolf offense. Thode finished with four hits in game one, while Nowak finished 4-for-9 for the day.

Stony Brook and Charleston Southern will conclude the three-game series tomorrow starting at 1:00 p.m.