March 24, 2000

Orlando, Fla. - The Stony Brook softball team faced a daunting task to open its 2000 season, traveling to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the Rebel Games. Not only would it be the Seawolves' first season of Division I competition, but most of the teams in Orlando had started their seasons weeks before. As it turned out, USB came away from the Rebel Games 0-10, still searching for their first win as a D-I program.

The Seawolves made their D-I debut against Marist on Saturday, March 18. Senior Tricia Lipareli scored the first run of the season in the first inning off a double by sophomore transfer Stephanie Poetzsch. However, the Seawolves committed three errors in the fifth inning, leading to two Marist runs. The Red Foxes' homer in the sixth gave them the 3-1 victory.

Next up was Drexel, an opponent the Seawolves would take to extra innings before a five-run eighth inning would give the Dragons the win, 6-1. Junior Christie McMurray drove in the tying run in the seventh, but two Seawolves struck out in the eighth and USB was unable to score. Once again, errors would tell the tale as Stony Brook had two in the eighth inning and four total in the game. Even though the Dragons did not register a hit in the final inning, they put five runs on the board for the 6-1 final score.

Against Youngstown, USB held a 7-4 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. The Seawolves escaped their scoring slump, as Lipareli and junior Sam Foronjy both went 3-4, with Lipareli notching two runs, two RBI and a home run. Junior Corrine Vish and sophomore Jen Milito each had a pair of RBI as well. However, Youngstown's Rachel Zehndor had a home run and the Penguins added three more runs on a bases-loaded triple for the 8-7 final score.

In USB's next game against Towson, the Tigers opened up a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth, but the Seawolves battled back, scoring three runs to pull within 7-3. Freshman Cass Broadwater and sophomore Sue Westing each added a run in the fifth and sixth innings to further narrow the margin. But 7-5 would be as close as Stony Brook would get, with Towson winning, 8-5.

With an 0-4 record, the Seawolves had a day off before taking on Lehigh and Wright State. Lehigh shut out USB 5-0 in the first game of the day. The Wright State game was another contest that USB would lead before losing in the final inning. Up 2-1 heading into the seventh, the Raiders exploded with four hits and five runs, capitalizing on two Seawolves errors. Wright State ended up with a 6-3 victory.

Against UMBC and Cornell the next day, USB would manage only two runs in the two games combined, losing 7-1 to UMBC and 14-1 to Cornell. The Seawolves were even with UMBC, 1-1, until the fifth inning, when the Retrievers scored four runs. Lipareli led Stony Brook, going 2-3 and scoring the Seawolves' only run. Cornell used a five-run second inning to extend its lead to 6-0 and the Big Red had seven runs in the sixth, four on a grand slam, to hand USB its worst loss of the trip.

On their final day at the Rebel Games, the Seawolves were shut out, 6-0, against Dartmouth. USB then took Troy State to extra innings but would again give up a big eighth inning, losing 5-2. Lipareli's single drove in Foronjy in the first inning as USB took an early 1-0 lead. The Trojans evened the score in the fifth inning on a homer and took the lead for good in the eighth with four runs on three hits. Lauren Ruane's run in the bottom of the eighth wouldn't be enough as USB suffered a disappointing 5-2 loss to close out the week.

The schedule does not get any easier for the Seawolves as they host a doubleheader against St. John's in the home opener on Tuesday. Stony Brook then travels to face Albany on Friday and heads to the Colgate Invitational next weekend.