ALBANY, N.Y.-- No. 1 Albany and No. 3 Stony Brook each picked up wins on the first day of the 2008 America East Softball Championship hosted by the Great Danes in Albany, N.Y. Both the Great Danes and the Seawolves move into the winners' bracket of the double-elimination tournament.
The top-seeded Great Danes defeated fourth-seeded UMBC, 4-0, in the first game of the day. Sophomore hurler Leah McIntosh pitched a complete game for Albany, allowing just two hits and striking out 12 Retrievers. Senior leftfielder Amber Maisonet led the host school going 2-for-2 at the plate and coming around for a run. Freshman Gina Mason drove in two of her team's four runs.
UMBC first baseman Amanda Fefel accounted for both of the hits off of McIntosh, including a double in the final inning. Senior Ashley Gray took the loss in the circle for the Retrievers, recording six strikeouts and four walks.
The second game on opening day of the tournament, a 3-0 win for Stony Brook, saw a pitcher's duel between Boston University's Cassidi Hardy and Stony Brook's Alyssa Struzenberg, the Pitcher of the Year. Struzenberg came out victorious pitching a complete game, one-hit shutout for her 22nd win of the season. The Seawolves started off the scoring in the second inning when Molly Kestranek reached base on an error, advanced to second on a fielder's choice and came around to score on Kelly Oberto's double to right field. Oberto finished the afternoon going 2-for-3, with an RBI and a run.
The game remained 1-0 until the seventh inning as Hardy pitched out of some jams for the Terriers. With runners on first and third and two outs in the top of the sixth inning, Hardy caught the batter looking on strike three to escape. She wasn't as lucky in the seventh, as the Seawolves tacked on two earned runs in the final frame to seal the victory.
Albany and Stony Brook will move on to the winners' bracket and play each other Friday at 11 a.m., while UMBC and Boston University will face each other at approximately 1:30 p.m. The loser of the second game will go home, while the winner will face the loser of the Great Danes-Seawolves match-up at 4 p.m.
The 2008 America East Softball Championship
Thursday, May 8
Albany, N.Y.
Game #1: #1 Albany 4,#4 UMBC 0 - BOX SCORE
Game #2: #3 Stony Brook 3, #2 Boston University 0 - BOXSCORE
Friday, May 9
Game #3: Albany vs. Stony Brook, 11 a.m. l LIVE STATS
Game #4: UMBC vs. Boston University, 1:30 p.m. l LIVE STATS
Game #5: Loser Game #3 vs. Winner Game #4, 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 10
Game #6: Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #5, 12 p.m.
Game #7 (If Neccessary): Winner Game #6 vs. Loser Game #6, 2:30 p.m.