FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University softball team was swept by Stony Brook in a non-conference doubleheader at Pioneer Park on Thursday. The Pios fell 3-2 and 5-0 in the two bouts, outhitting the Seawolves 7-5 in the opener. 

Team Records
Sacred Heart (7-10)
Stony Brook (8-10)

Game 1: SB 3, SHU 2
Pitchers:
Sam Kowalski (SHU) - (L, 7.0 innings pitched, 1 earned run, 8 strikeouts, 4-5 record) 
Mia Haynes (SB) - (W, 7.0 innings pitched, 2 earned runs, 4 strikeouts, 6-4 record)

Top Performers:
Alyssa Gonzalez (SHU) – 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 double
Jenna Mowad (SHU)– 1-3, 1 run

Of Note:
The Pioneers started game one on the right foot, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first to race out to a 2-0 lead. SHU kicked off the frame with back-to-back singles from Jenna Mowad and Amy Petrovich. Alyssa Gonzalez then stepped to the plate and smacked a double down the left field line to hang the first run on the board. Grace Saad came up in the next at-bat and sent a sacrifice fly to center to make it a 2-0 game. 

After the first, the contest became a pitching duel, as no more runs were scored until the sixth inning. Sam Kowalski was outstanding in the circle for the Pios, not allowing her first hit of the afternoon until the sixth. Unfortunately for Sacred Heart, the Seawolves tallied three hits in the inning on their way to scoring three runs to take the lead. 

SHU had some chances to tie the contest late, putting two on in the sixth and one in the seventh, but was held at bay in a hard-fought 3-2 loss. 

Despite suffering the setback, Kowalski finished with an outstanding stat line. The first year struck out a season-high eight batters and allowed just one earned run over 7.0 innings. 

Game 2: SB 5, SHU 0
Pitchers:
Liv Vadas (SHU) - (4.0 innings pitched, 0 earned runs, 1 strikeout)
Emily Heath (SHU) - (W, 1.2 innings pitched, 3 earned runs, 1 strikeout, 1-1 record)
Carly Koltko (SHU) - (1.1 innings pitched, 2 earned runs, 0 strikeouts)
Ashton Melaas (SB) - (W, 7.0 innings pitched, 0 earned runs, 5 strikeouts 1-3 record) 

Top Performers:
Emily Carroll (SHU) – 1-3, 1 double
Alyssa Gonzalez (SHU) – 1-3, 1 double

Of Note:
Like the opener, game two started as a pitching duel. SHU's Liv Vadas and Stony Brook's Ashton Melaas went back and forth recording scoreless innings until the top of the fifth. Vadas left after the fourth inning, ending her day with no earned runs one strike out over 4.0 frames. 

In the fifth, the Seawolves took advantage of a Pios' error to score the first run of the game off first year hurler Emily Heath. 

Stony Brook added to its lead with two runs in the sixth and seventh innings on its way to a 5-0 victory in game two. Melaas finished the contest with zero earned runs and five strikeouts in a complete-game win. 

The Pioneers ended game two with four hits from four different hitters. Gonzalez and Emily Carroll each tallied a double in the bout. 

Up Next
The Pioneers open Northeast Conference play on Saturday, March 18, with a home doubleheader against Merrimack at Pioneer Park. The first of the two games is slated to start at 1 p.m.