FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The time we have all been waiting for is finally here, as the Sacred Heart University softball team kicks off the home portion of its 2023 schedule on Thursday, March 16, with a doubleheader against Stony Brook at Pioneer Park, beginning at 2 p.m. 

SHU vs. Stony Brook Game Information 
Game 1: Sacred Heart vs. Stony Brook – Thursday, March 16; 2:00 p.m. Video | Live Stats
Game 2: Sacred Heart vs. Stony Brook – Thursday, March 16; 4:00 p.m. Video | Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
The Pioneers last competed at the Flames Classic, hosted by Liberty in Lynchburg, Va. SHU went 2-3 at the challenging event, picking up wins over Ball State and Fairfield and falling in close contests against Liberty, Maryland, and Ball State. The Pios' first win of the tourney was an 11-3 triumph over the Cardinals in five innings, which saw eight Sacred Heart hitters combine for 13 hits in the high-scoring affair. SHU ended the tournament with a thrilling 6-3 comeback win over Fairfield on Saturday. Emily Carroll's two-RBI double in the top of the seventh gave the Pioneers their first lead. 

QUITE THE DEBUT
In Sacred Heart's triumph over Fairfield, first year pitcher Emily Heath put on a show to earn her first collegiate win in her first career start. The Coventry, R.I., native allowed just two earned runs over 7.0 innings while striking out six batters to earn a complete-game victory. Heath allowed one base runner over the sixth and seventh innings to help SHU take and hold the lead. 

TOP OF THE CONFERENCE
Through the first month of the season, SHU and a couple of its players find themselves at the top of a couple of the NEC's statistical leaderboards. The team ranks first in batting average (.272), slugging percentage (.429), and home runs (14), in addition to being second in runs (76), doubles (20), and RBI (62). Individually, Alyssa Gonzalez leads the league with five home runs and a 0.838 slugging percentage, while Nicole Henke paces the NEC with 16 RBI. 

STUDYING STONY BROOK
The Seawolves head into Thursday's opening game with a 6-10 overall record after dropping all three games in their CAA-opening series against Elon. Despite being swept by the CAA runner-up from 2022, Stony Brook still represents a challenge, as it owns wins over Mississippi State, Bethune-Cookman, Buffalo, Central Connecticut State, Stonehill, and FIU. The Seawolves' victory over Mississippi State, who was ranked No. 23 at the time, was the first nationally-ranked win by a current CAA team since 2018. Leading the way for Stony Brook is the senior duo of Shauna Nuss and Corinne Badger. Nuss paces the team and is second in the CAA with a .382 batting average to go along with a team-high 11 runs. Badger paces the Seawolves in slugging percentage (.612), RBI (11), and home runs (5), the latter being tied for the most in the CAA. In the circle, junior Mia Haynes paces the team with a 3.87 ERA and owns five of the team's six wins this season. 

UP NEXT
The Pioneers are back on the diamond on Saturday, March 18, for its NEC-opening series against Merrimack at Pioneer Park. The series opens on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. before concluding on Sunday with a 12 p.m. tilt.