Stony Brook softball completed a three-game sweep of North Carolina A&T on April 6 at University Field. The Seawolves have won seven of their last eight games and eight consecutive conference contests.

Crimson Rice started the Sunday contest, stranding two runners in scoring position to pitch a clean first inning.

The Seawolves struck early, scoring three runs in the first inning. Kyra McFarland and Alyssa Costello started things with hits, coming around to score on a Nicole Allen single and a Madelyn Stepski groundout. Allen later scored on a double steal. After a long first inning, Rice made quick work of the Aggies in the second.

A&T got on the board in the fourth inning, scoring twice to make it a one-run game. Rice again stranded a pair in scoring position, maintaining the lead.

Emma Scheitinger led off the fourth with a triple, scoring on an Emily Reinstein sacrifice fly.

The Seawolves added another run in the fifth. Costello led off with a walk and scored on a double by Allen, pushing Stony Brook’s lead back to three runs. Gabrielle Maday entered in the fifth inning, retiring nine of the 10 batters she faced to earn her second straight save.

“It wasn’t our best game of the series in a couple of ways, but we found a way to be gritty and grind out the win and get an important CAA sweep,” head coach Megan T. Bryant said. “That’s the sign of a good team… not firing on all cylinders and you find a way to win. I thought we could’ve been a little more productive offensively and we had an uncharacteristically messy inning defensively, but I thought Gabby was great in relief to give us a lift and get the W.”

The team visited St. John’s for a mid-week, non-conference clash on April 8. Results were not available as of press time.

Stony Brook softball swept North Carolina A&T in a conference doubleheader on April 4 on Long Island. Nicole Allen, Naiah Ackerman, Emily Reinstein and others powered the Seawolves to 14 runs across the two games, while Crimson Rice, Gabrielle Maday and Maddie Male all combined to limit the Aggies to three runs on Friday.

GAME ONE: STONY BROOK 7, N.C. A&T 1

Rice started game one for Stony Brook, tossing a scoreless first inning to begin her afternoon.

A pair of hits from Alyssa Costlello and Madelyn Stepski did not amount to runs in the home half of the first frame.

Marissa Thalassinos led off the second inning by drawing a walk, later scoring the game’s first run on a wild pitch. Malorie Hill, who also worked a walk, came around to score on an Ackerman sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.

The Aggies got a run back on a solo homer in the third inning, cutting Stony Brook’s lead in half.

The Seawolves answered back in the home half of the third inning on a Stepski run-scoring triple and a Mia Vannelli RBI groundout. The runs put the Seawolves ahead 4-1.

Stony Brook tacked on additional runs in the fourth frame courtesy of an Ackerman double, a passed ball and sacrifice fly by Costello.

Staked to a six-run lead, Rice made quick work of N.C. A&T in the fifth inning. She ran into trouble in the sixth, but worked through it without any damage and finished what she started with a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

GAME TWO: STONY BROOK 7, N.C. A&T 2

Male took to the circle to start game two, retiring the side in order. Her offense provided her an early lead after an Allen groundout plated Kyra McFarland, who extended her hitting streak to 15 straight games with a leadoff single.

The Seawolves added four runs on five hits in the second inning, opening up a 5-0 lead. Stony Brook loaded the bases with one out and McFarland and Costello plated a run each before Allen singled home a pair. Vannelli’s single through the left side pushed the Seawolves’ advantage to five runs.

Male held the Aggies scoreless until the fifth inning when a two-run blast made it a 5-2 game. Maday entered in relief of Male, working around a one-out double to keep N.C. A&T from doing further damage.

Stony Brook responded, getting both runs right back on a Reinstein two-run homer.

Maday closed the deal, retiring the side in order in the sixth and getting a little help from Reinstein defensively, who threw out a would-be base stealer to end the game and strand runners on the corners.

UP NEXT
Stony Brook and N.C. A&T wrap up the three-game series on Sunday, April 6. First pitch is set for noon at University Field, streaming live on FloCollege.

Stony Brook softball fell to Delaware, 9-3, on March 15. The Seawolves were leading entering the bottom of the fifth, but the Blue Hens scored seven times to flip the script and beat Stony Brook.

Stony Brook opened the scoring in the top of the first. Naiah Ackerman was hit by a pitch, moved up to third on an Alyssa Costello double and then scored on a Madelyn Stepski groundout.

Madelaine Male started for the Seawolves, retiring Delaware in order in the bottom of the first after being staked to a lead.

The Blue Hens took a lead in the second inning after a two-run homer with two outs in the frame.

Ackerman singled and Stepski walked in the third inning, but the frame ended when Ackerman was thrown out trying to score the tying run on a Crimson Rice single.

After another 1-2-3 inning for Male, Stony Brook’s offense pushed some more runs across. Kyra McFarland hit a two-out, two-run double that scored Marissa Thalassinos and Emma Scheitinger to give the Seawolves a 3-2 lead in the fourth.

McFarland’s double chased Delaware’s starter. The Blue Hens went to Billie Kerwood and despite loading the bases, Kerwood escaped the fourth without any more damage.

Male cruised through the fourth inning, maintaining Stony Brook’s lead, but ran into trouble in the fifth. A walk and a single put two runners on with one out, and it was a three-run blast that put Delaware ahead by two runs and forced Male out of the contest.

Jordyn Fray entered in relief of Male, but registered just one out and exited after allowing a three-run double on a misplayed ball in the outfield.

Gabrielle Maday finished the inning, retiring the only batter she faced. Delaware led 9-3 after five innings, scoring seven times in the frame.

The Seawolves’ offense went down in order in the sixth and seventh, falling for the second straight day to Kerwood and the Blue Hens.

Up next, Stony Brook and Delaware wrap up the series tomorrow, March 16 with first pitch slated for noon from the Delaware Softball Diamond.

Stony Brook softball dropped the series opener to Delaware, 5-1, on March 14 in Newark, New Jersey. Naiah Ackerman was responsible for driving in the Seawolves’ lone run of the contest.

Alyssa Costello singled with one out in the first after Ackerman worked a four-pitch walk, putting two runners on for the Seawolves in the opening frame. Delaware’s Billie Kerwood escaped the inning by striking out the next two batters.

Gabrielle Maday surrendered a lead-off homer, but responded by retiring the next three hitters.

Delaware added two more runs on another homer in the second inning. Maday exited the contest after walking the next hitter, giving way to Crimson Rice, who stranded a pair of runners to finish the frame.

Kyra McFarland led off the third with a walk and then came around to score on Ackerman’s single into center, getting Stony Brook on the board. Kerwood struck out the next three to strand Ackerman in scoring position and maintain a two-run cushion.

Delaware’s offense got the run back, plus another, with its third home run of the game.

Stony Brook put a runner on in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but could not push across a run.

Kerwood finished what she started, retiring the side in order in the seventh to earn a series-opening victory over the Seawolves.

“Tough start to what we knew was going to be a challenging series for our young team. We didn’t trade punches with them offensively as we are capable of doing, and that momentum was missing,” head coach Megan T. Bryant said.