March 18, 2008

Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Junior Molly Kestranek (St. Mary's, Ga.) went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, as Stony Brook rallied back from a 5-2 deficit to beat Monmouth, 8-5 Tuesday at University Field. After a lengthy first game, the Seawolves had their second game against the Hawks called in the fifth inning with the score tied, 2-2. The game will officially go down as tie, moving Stony Brook to 6-6-1 on the season and Monmouth to 2-9-1.

The Seawolves fell behind early in game one, after a leadoff double for the Hawks was followed by a single and three-run homer by centerfielder Nichole Alvarez. Stony Brook answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the first inning, when senior Ashley Westphal (Huntington Beach, Calif.) led-off with a double and later scored on a throwing error by Monmouth's third baseman. Sophomore Vicki Kavitsky (Cherry Hill, N.J.) scored Stony Brook's other run on an RBI single by Kestranek.

After a two-run home run by Alvarez in the top of the second inning extended Monmouth's lead to 5-2, senior Sara Cerrone (Floral Park, N.Y.) doubled to right center to start things off for the Seawolves in the bottom half. After a sacrifice by Westphal moved Cerrone over to third, junior Kelsi Fanelli (Audubon, N.J.) knocked her in with a single to the left side, to pull the Seawolves within two.

Both teams cooled off during the third and fourth innings, but junior Marissa Fleury (Mahopac, N.Y.) kick-started the Seawolves offense in the fifth with a leadoff single to right center. A sacrifice and a single moved Fleury over third and she was able to score on an error by the Hawk's catcher. Junior Kelly Oberto (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) then evened the score with a double to left which drove in Kestranek. Oberto later scored the go-ahead run on another Monmouth fielding error.

The Seawolves pushed two more runs across in the sixth, including an RBI triple by Fleury, to extend their lead to 8-5.

After a rocky start, sophomore Alyssa Struzenberg (Cooper City, Fla.) settled down and allowed only four hits over the final five innings of the game to earn her fifth victory of the season, improving to 5-0.

Despite grabbing an early 1-0 lead in game two, the Seawolves needed a fifth inning RBI single by Fleury to even the score at 2-2 before the game was called due to darkness. Freshman Colleen Matthes (Severn, Md.) pitched all five innings for Stony Brook, allowing just three hits while striking out four.

The Seawolves will travel to New Haven, Conn. tomorrow to play a doubleheader against Yale, starting at 2:00 p.m.