Stony Brook Keeps Season Alive with 2-1 Extra-Inning Win Over Elon in Game Five of CAA Softball Championship
Hunter Peters
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | BOX SCORE | HIGHLIGHTS | PHOTO GALLERY
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (May 10, 2023) – Seventh-seeded Stony Brook avoided elimination by edging fourth-seeded Elon 2-1 in eight innings in game five of the 2023 CAA Softball Championship from Bill Edwards Stadium on Wednesday night.
Stony Brook (27-26) will continue its climb in the losers bracket tomorrow at 5 p.m., awaiting the lower-seeded loser from games six and seven. Elon (22-26) is eliminated from postseason contention after qualifying for its fourth straight CAA Tournament this spring.
Alyssa Costello scored the eventual game-winning run on a wild pitch in the top of the eight, and Mia Haynes sat down the Phoenix in order in the bottom half of the inning to keep the season alive for the Seawolves.
Haynes (17-8) outlasted the Elon junior right-hander Meredith Wells (4-7) in a classic pitcher’s duel and great effort in the circle by both parties. Haynes scattered seven hits and allowed just one earned run in a season-high 8.0 innings of work. It marks the second complete game for the Seawolf righty, who is up to 19.1 innings pitched for the tournament.
Stony Brook wasted no time getting on the board in its second game of the day. Alicia Orosco reached on a leadoff single and swapped places with Costello after a fielder’s choice. Costello stole second, and Ashley Jacobson drove her in with two outs, giving the Seawolves a 1-0 lead.
After two scoreless innings, Carley Davis tied the game with a leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. Davis took the 2-0 pitch on a line over the left field wall for her third homer this spring.
Stony Brook had runners in scoring position in its half of the fifth, sixth and seventh but could not scratch any runs across.
Elon loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh as Drew Menscer and Megan Grant recorded back-to-back singles with one out, followed by a two-out walk from Claudia Penny. However, Haynes induced a fly ball, sending the game into extras.
Costello led off the eighth with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Catherine Anne Kupinski. With Corrine Badger at the plate in a 3-0 count, ball four was in the dirt, allowing Costello to slide in safely at home. Elon had no answer in its half of the eighth, as Hayes retired the Phoenix in order.
Costello’s double extended her hitting streak to 21 straight games, and Orosco went 2-for-4, recording her second multi-hit effort of the day to extend her hitting streak to 10 games in a row.
Grant went 2-for-4, recording the lone multi-hit effort for the Phoenix, while Penny reached safely three times, going 1-for-2 with two walks.
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