Stony Brook Seawolves (14-17-1) pitchers senior Jane Sallen and sophomore Maddy Neales battled through a tough wind on Friday afternoon to dominate the mound. The pair combined for a two-hit shutout in a 5-0 win against the Hartford Hawks (4-25).
“We work really hard as a staff to not let things we can’t control affect us, so [the wind] wasn’t a factor at all,” Sallen said. “Every time I go out, I try to be dominating, so my expectation is to throw as well as I can and get a good result for our team.”
Sallen improved to 10-10 on the season with the victory with four innings and a one-hit shutout. She had five strikeouts, but walked four batters, which contributed to not allowing her to go as far into the game as she normally does; Sallen has completed 13 games in 19 starts.
Neales relieved for the senior in the top of the fifth and earned her second save of the year. She pitched three innings and allowed one hit, three walks and struck out one
“[Sallen and Neales] combined for the shutout, so that’s a good thing,” Stony Brook Head Coach Megan Bryant said. “I think we can be a little cleaner with regard to the walks from a pitching point of view.”
The wind played a role on Stony Brook’s first run of the game. Freshman designated player Irene Rivera hit a bloop RBI single to center, bringing home senior catcher Alexandra Pisciotta. Hartford center fielder Jenice Aloyo had a hard time playing the ball due to the wind, which allowed Stony Brook to strike first.
“[The wind] helped us a little bit,” Bryant said. “A couple of balls we put in the air, they misplayed.”
Stony Brook blew the game open in the bottom of the fifth. Junior shortstop Lexie Shue drove in freshman pinch runner Katelyn Corr and sophomore third baseman Chelsea Evans with a double down the right field line. It was her second hit of the game and it staked Stony Brook to a 5-0 lead.
“We grinded out some key at-bats,” Bryant said. “We’ve really been trying to emphasize consistent scoring and we were able to do that today.”
Seniors Diane Caruso and Kellie Reynolds each had an RBI single.
Hartford sophomore pitcher Bianca Ross went six innings and allowed four earned runs. She walked and struck out one batter each, and fell to 2-8 this season.
Stony Brook will play a doubleheader against Hartford on Sunday afternoon at University Field.
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