Courtesy of Stony Brook Athletic Communications
Tempe, Ariz. -
Stony Brook's softball team ended its 2008 season with a 8-3 loss to
Mississippi State in the NCAA Regional Saturday at Farrington Stadium.
The Seawolves finish the season with a record of 33-23-1.
Just like yesterday's game, senior Ashley Westphal (Huntington Beach, Calif.) led off the first inning for the Seawolves by drawing a walk. Sophomore Vicki KavitskyJade Clare
(Federal Way, Wash.) singled down the rightfield line to score Stony
Brook's first run of the regional and give the Seawolves a 1-0 lead.
(Cherry Hill, N.J.) followed that up with a first-pitch single to left,
putting runners on first and second. Two batters later, sophomore
The Bulldogs rallied in the third, with back-to-back singles by
Courtney Nesbit and Brittany Bell. A sacrifice bunt put runners on
second and third for Mississippi State with two outs, but sophomore Alyssa Struzenberg (Cooper City, Fla.) induced a pop-up to third base to end the threat and maintain the one-run lead.
MSU's bats came alive in the fifth, scoring six runs on seven
hits, highlighted by a two-RBI single by Sammie Jo Bailey. Sophomore Casey Jacobs (Davie, Fla.) replaced Struzenberg in the circle, recording the final out of the inning.
The Bulldogs changed pitchers in the sixth inning, replacing their starter, Misty Flesher, with Kelsey Nurnberg. Junior Marissa Fleury (Mahopac, N.Y.) drew a leadoff walk and pinch-runner sophomore Katelyn O'Donnell (Kingston, Mass.) advanced to second on an infield single by junior Molly Kestranek
(St. Mary's, Ga.). Jacobs then helped her own cause, singling back up
the middle, scoring O'Donnell, cutting the Bulldogs lead to four and
forcing MSU to re-enter Flesher. Junior Kelly Oberto
(Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) drew a walk to load the bases and one out
later Westphal delivered a single through the left side to score the
Seawolves' second run of the inning.
MSU tacked on a two-run homer in the top of the seventh to make the
final score, 8-3. Stony Brook's 33 wins are a new single-season school
record, while Struzenberg finished her record-breaking season with 24
wins.