Softball to play two with Stony Brook Thurs.

Bulldogs travel to Stony Brook for Thursday doubleheader action

Twitter Updates (@BryantGameday)

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Looking for its seventh win in the month of April, the Bryant University softball team travels to Stony Brook University on Thursday (April 19) afternoon for a two-game set. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.

Entering Thursday with a record of 13-19 overall, the Bulldogs have been at their best over the month of April, during which they have posted a 6-4 record after standing at 7-15 after March 31. The Seawolves (27-11) have gone 7-3 in their last 10 contests but were most recently swept in a doubleheader against Rutgers earlier in the week.

Thursday's showdown will mark the first-ever meeting between both squads.

The Bulldogs are riding high off of a 9-6 victory over Providence College on Tuesday (April 17) afternoon at the Bryant Softball Complex at Conaty Park. Junior Brittany Hart (North Andover, Mass.) guided the Bulldogs in one of her best outings of the season, as the right-hander fanned a career-high eight batters while walking just two and scattering nine hits to improve to 6-5 on the season. Bryant's bats were also potent against the Friars, totaling 11 hits en route to an early seven-run advantage that proved to be insurmountable in the victory.

The Seawolves average more than five runs per game and bat .316 as a team, highlighted by seven players with at least one at-bat per game batting over .300 through 38 contests.

Leading the pack is freshman Shayla Giosia, who leads Stony Brook with a .383 batting average. Giosia also ranks first on the squad in runs scored (29) and home runs (5) while driving in a team-high 36 RBI. Seniors Suzanne Karath (.364) and Bernadette Tenuto (.357) rank second and third, respectively, in batting, while Karath's 47 runs scored are the most by a Stony Brook player.

Stony Brook has excelled in the circle as well with a 2.15 team ERA that ranks second in America East. As a team, the Seawolves have yielded just 87 runs on the year (2.29 per game) to rank first in their conference in that category.

A large reason for that success has been the impressive first season of rookie Allison Cukrov, who received her fourth America East Pitcher of the Week nomination on Monday after posting a 4-0 record and a 0.52 ERA last week. Cukrov struck out 20 batters in 27 innings, while holding opponents to a .122 batting average during that span.

Cukrov stands at 17-5 on the season with a team-best 1.19 ERA and has shouldered the majority of the workload by starting 22 games and pitching 147 and 1/3 innings. She has struck out an astounding 146 batters while yielding just 36 walks on the year. In addition, the freshman leads the America East in wins, shutouts (11), ERA and strikeouts.

For continuing coverage of Bryant University softball, check back online at www.bryantbulldogs.com; also be sure to follow the Bulldogs on Twitter @BryantAthletics.