Will face winner of No. 2 Boston University vs. No. 3 Albany at 1:30 p.m.
Stony Brook, N.Y. - Senior Marissa Fleury (Mahopac, N.Y.) went 2-for-3 with an RBI as Stony Brook University's softball team beat UMBC, 3-1, to advance to the winners' bracket of the America East Championship. The Seawolves took advantage of two crucial errors by the Retrievers to plate two of their three runs. Junior Alyssa Struzenberg (Cooper City, Fla.) allowed only three hits in five innings of work to earn the win. Stony Brook now stands at 36-12 (15-5 America East) while UMBC is 34-20 (12-8 AE).
SBU jumped out to an early lead as they plated a run in bottom of the first inning. Junior Vicki Kavitsky (Cherry Hill, N.J.) started the game off for the Seawolves with a dribbler in front of home plate which she beat out for a single. Two batters later, Fleury lined a single to left which took an odd bounce in the soggy outfield grass and skipped past the UMBC outfielder allowing Kavitsky to score from first.
In the bottom of the third, junior Crista Cerrone (Floral Park, N.Y.) hit a groundball to third, which was thrown past the first baseman and into right field. With Cerrone headed to first, UMBC's right fielder threw wide of the shortstop. As the ball rolled into left, Cerrone headed all the way home, giving Stony Brook a 2-0 advantage. Senior Kelsi Fanelli (Audubon, N.J.) increased that lead by one, taking a 3-2 pitch over the center field fence for a solo home run.
Struzenberg was solid through five innings, keeping the Retrievers from reaching second base. After back-to-back walks to open the sixth, junior Casey Jacobs (Davie, Fla.) came in relief to retire three straight to escape danger. UMBC rallied to score once in the bottom of the seventh, but that is as close as they would get as Jacobs held on for her fifth save of the year.
SBU jumped out to an early lead as they plated a run in bottom of the first inning. Junior Vicki Kavitsky (Cherry Hill, N.J.) started the game off for the Seawolves with a dribbler in front of home plate which she beat out for a single. Two batters later, Fleury lined a single to left which took an odd bounce in the soggy outfield grass and skipped past the UMBC outfielder allowing Kavitsky to score from first.
In the bottom of the third, junior Crista Cerrone (Floral Park, N.Y.) hit a groundball to third, which was thrown past the first baseman and into right field. With Cerrone headed to first, UMBC's right fielder threw wide of the shortstop. As the ball rolled into left, Cerrone headed all the way home, giving Stony Brook a 2-0 advantage. Senior Kelsi Fanelli (Audubon, N.J.) increased that lead by one, taking a 3-2 pitch over the center field fence for a solo home run.
Struzenberg was solid through five innings, keeping the Retrievers from reaching second base. After back-to-back walks to open the sixth, junior Casey Jacobs (Davie, Fla.) came in relief to retire three straight to escape danger. UMBC rallied to score once in the bottom of the seventh, but that is as close as they would get as Jacobs held on for her fifth save of the year.
Stony Brook will play the winner of the No. 2 Boston University vs. No. 3 Albany game tomorrow at 11:30 a.m.
