STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Spurred by their offenses, top-seeded Stony Brook and third-seeded Binghamton advanced to the championship round of the 2015 America East Softball Championship Friday.
The Seawolves beat the Bearcats, 16-3, in the day’s opening game, but Binghamton bounced back to beat fourth-seeded Maine in the third game of the day, an elimination game, 8-0. In the second game of the day, the Black Bears ousted second-seeded Albany, 10-7.
Stony Brook and Binghamton will play for the league title at 12 p.m. Saturday. The Bearcats will have to beat the Seawolves twice to take the championship. The deciding game would be played at approximately 2:30 p.m.
The championship round will be streamed for free at AmericaEast.TV and is available on mobile devices.
Stony Brook 16, Binghamton 3 – Box Score
- In the day’s opening game, the Seawolves pounded out 10 hits, four of which were home runs, as they advanced to the championship round for the third-straight year.
- Senior catcher Alexandra Pisciotta led off the game with a homer to left center field, her fifth of the season, for the Seawolves.
- The Seawolves used the long ball again in the third to plate three more runs and take a 4-0 lead.
- Melissa Phelan led off the frame with a home run and Bria Green followed with a two-run shot four batters later, her league-leading 19th round tripper of the season.
- Binghamton (21-19) got one back in its half of the fourth as Jessica Rutherford, the America East Rookie of the Year, hit a solo homer.
- The Seawolves blew the game open by scoring five times in the fifth.
- Six of the first seven Seawolves reached base and Diane Caruso capped the scoring with a two-run double to put SBU up 9-1.
- Lisa Cadogan, a first-team All-Conference, belted her 10th homer of the year in the fifth to keep the game going.
- The Seawolves plated seven in the sixth, highlighted by Lauren Kamachi’s two-run homer.
- The Bearcats got one back in the sixth, but the game ended there due to the eight-run rule.
- Allison Cukrov went the distance to Stony Brook, allowing three runs on eight hits while fanning five.
Maine 10, Albany 7 – Box Score
- A six-run fourth inning powered the Black Bears to win over Albany in the second game of the day.
- The victory was Maine’s first in the America East Championship since 2010.
- Maine (22-21) jumped out to early 1-0 as Erika Leonard led off with a single to right and scored on Jess Burk’s run-scoring single.
- The Black Bears scored three more times in the third and Leonard again played a big part, contributing a two-run triple and scoring on a wild pitch.
- Maggie Cocks and Marlin Solano cut Albany’s deficit to 4-2, contributing RBI singles in the third and fourth innings.
- But, Maine took advantage of three Albany errors in the fourth to score six runs and led 10-2 after four.
- Leonard, who went 3-for-4 with three runs score and three RBI, homered in the frame, her second of the year.
- Albany would make it interested scoring in five times in the last three innings, including back-to-back homers by Jess Tate and Lauren Haskell in the seven, but America East Pitcher of the Year Alexis Bogdanovich got Kayla Bailey to pop out to second to end the game.
Binghamton 8, Maine 0 – Box Score
- The Bearcats scored five times in the first two innings and held on to down Maine and advance to the championship game for the first time in program history.
- Sydney Harbaugh led off the game with a bunt single and scored on Lisa Cadogan's RBI single giving Binghamton a 1-0 lead after one.
- America East Rookie of the Year Jessica Rutherford powered a four-run second with as she came up with the bases loaded and blasted a bases clearing double.
- Rutherford came around to score on Cadogan's run-scoring double.
- With a 5-0 lead in the fifth, Binghamton struck for two more runs on RBI singles by Tia Smith and Gabby Bracchi.
- The Bearcats plated their eighth run in the sixth and held Maine (22-22) off the scoreboard to close out the 8-0 win.
- Binghamton pounded out 13 hits, including three by Cadogan.
- Maine had eight hits but Sarah Miller and Cara Martin left seven runners stranded and combined for the shutout.