Stony Brook Seawolves baseball

History

Stony Brook first fielded NCAA sanctioned baseball in 1966 and in the late 1990s transitioned to Division I college baseball. In 2002 the university joined the America East Conference in all sports. Since then, Stony Brook has won two regular season championship and four conference tournaments leading to as many trips to the NCAA tournament. In 2010, the Seawolves won their first game ever in the NCAA Baseball Championship, and in 2012 Stony Brook advanced to its first College World Series.

2008–12: Conference champions again

In 2008, Stony Brook put up a 34–26, 14–10 regular season performance clinching the second seed in the America East tournament behind the Binghamton Bearcats. In the double-elimination tournament, the Seawolves beat UMBC and Binghamton twice to clinch their second tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA regionals. Steve Mazzurco was named the Most Outstanding Player in the league. In the regionals, Stony Brook faced off against Arizona State and Vanderbilt, both resulting in losses and another early exit from the tournament. The 2009 season was less promising and the Seawolves ended the regular season in third place with a 29–23, 14–10 record. Stony Brook was ousted early in the America East tournament after consecutive losses against second-seeded Albany and fourth-seeded Vermont. Following a disappointing season, the Seawolves came out stronger in 2010, ending the season 30–27, 15–9 in the America East. Stony Brook entered the tournament as the third seed but surprised many with victories against Maine and consecutive victories against Albany to earn their third tournament championship, and advanced to the NCAA once again. Pat Cantwell, William Carmona, Maxx Tissenbaum, Nick Tropeano, and Adam Brown made the All-tournament list and Cantwell additionally earned the MOP award. In the NCAA the Seawolves earned their first victory in a regional beating North Carolina State but were eliminated by Coastal Carolina.

2012: Conference championships, national recognition and College World Series

Stony Brook opened their 2012 campaign with a perfect 4–0 weekend at Thibodaux, Louisiana, with pair of victories over Alabama State and Nicholls State in the Coronel Round Robin. The team then traveled to Greenville, North Carolina, to face off against East Carolina, swept in three consecutive one-run games. They returned to the Northeast for a single game against Fairleigh Dickinson, routing the Knights at Teaneck, New Jersey. Stony Brook participated in the Dairy Queen Classic splitting the weekend against Kansas and host Minnesota. Stony Brook opened their home season on March 10 against Iona beating the Gaels 12–7. The Seawolves followed up beating the Yale Bulldogs three out of four in a weekend series and compiled a string of victories against Fordham and Columbia for their first five-win streak of the season. Stony Brook couldn't keep the pace and lost back-to-back games against Sacred Heart but bounced back to win a pair of games against NYIT and victories against Marist and Fairleigh Dickinson.

The Seawolves opened conference play against Binghamton taking two of three at home. The team went on to win their following two games against Iona and Marist at home and then traveled to Albany for a weekend series; the Seawolves took three out of four. The team returned home to beat Rhode Island 8–2 and swept a four-game series against Hartford. Stony Brook played a pair of games against Fairfield and Central Connecticut coming out victorious on both occasions and swept a four-game series at UMBC extending their winning streak to ten games and taking command of first place in the America East.

Stony Brook took two out of three against Binghamton at home and swept another four-game series against UMBC to clinch a second consecutive regular season championship. Stony Brook closed the regular season with a four-game sweep at conference rival Maine to win a program record 43 games with 11 losses. The Seawolves headed into the conference tournament with the best winning percentage in Division I.

Stony Brook won three consecutive games in the America East tournament to earn the program's fourth title, beating Maine 13–6 in the finals to advance to the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament with a 46–11 record, the best record in Division I. The Seawolves were the first team in the America East since 2002 to earn both the regular season and conference tournament championships in the same season. For the first time in the history of the program, Stony Brook found itself ranked, sitting at No. 25 in the Baseball America poll and No. 29 in the NCBWA poll.

Stony Brook traveled to South Florida to play in the Coral Gables Regional as the fourth seed. In the first game the Seawolves knocked off top-seeded Miami and went on to the winners bracket. Following a loss to second-seeded Central Florida, Stony Brook beat Missouri State to eliminate the Bears and force a rematch against the Golden Knights. The Seawolves topped Central Florida 12–5 and 10–6 in consecutive days to win the regional and advance to face LSU in the Super Regionals.

In a rain-soaked Baton Rouge Super Regional, Stony Brook fell in the first game to the LSU Tigers in an extra-innings affair that spanned two days due to rain. The Seawolves bested LSU in game two just hours after the end of the first game to set up a series-determining game three. Stony Brook won the third game 7–2 and advanced to the 2012 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The Seawolves are the second team to be the fourth seed in its region and advance to the College World Series.

Notable MLB players

Below is a list of notable MLB players who have played for the Stony Brook Seawolves Baseball program:

Joe Nathan – Detroit Tigers

Tom Koehler – Miami Marlins

Nick Tropeano – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Travis Jankowski – San Diego Padres

Joe Nathan Field

Joe Nathan Field in the north end of the Stony Brook campus is the home field of Seawolves baseball. In 2008 It was announced that Stony Brook alumnus and MLB All-Star Joe Nathan donated $500,000 for the construction of a new field for the baseball program. A new FieldTurf was installed and dugouts were constructed In May 2011 the field was used for the first time since renovations. Additional donations allowed for a new scoreboard adjacent to the field. The dimensions of the field are 330 LF, 365 LC, 390 CF, 365 RC, 330 RF. Joe Nathan field has a capacity for 1,000 spectators with future phases planned. Stony Brook has hosted the 2011 and 2012 America East Baseball Tournaments at Joe Nathan Field.