CLEARWATER, FLA. - Junior Scott Kalamar (Bethlehem, Pa.) went 3-for-4 with a go-ahead two-run double to propel the Seton Hall baseball team to a 6-1 victory over Rutgers in the opening round of the 2012 BIG EAST Championship at Bright House Field.
With the victory, the Pirates improve to 34-22 overall. Their 34 wins match their season total from last year.
Junior starter Jon Prosinski (Skillman, N.J.) pitched six innings of one run ball, scattering seven hits while walking four and striking out four. The victory is his second over Rutgers this season and improves his record to 9-3 on the year.
Seton Hall got on the board first in the bottom of the first frame. Junior Zack Granite (Staten Island, N.Y.) walked to lead off the inning. Mike Genovese (Livingston, N.J.) followed with a single through the right side advancing Granite all the way to third base. Senior Will Walsh (New Milford, N.J.) hit into a 6-4-3 double play, but Granite scored with the first run of the game.
Rutgers (31-24) got the run back in the top of the third, but the Pirates' offense exploded for three runs on four hits in the bottom of the third. With one out, Walsh and Giuseppe Papaccio (Nutley, N.J.) hit back-to-back singles, and after Sal Annunziata (Bronx, N.Y.) lined out, Kalamar roped a two-RBI double to right center. Freshman Kyle Grimm (Bergenfield, N.J.) followed with a single to left, scoring Kalamar, and Seton Hall had a 4-1 lead.
Sophomore Dillon Hamlin (Colts Neck, N.J.) smashed a 2-1 pitch from Rutgers' reliever Dan O'Neill over the left field fence for his first career home run. The solo shot extended the Pirates' lead to 5-1.
An RBI single by Papaccio in the eighth inning padded Seton Hall's lead even more, 6-1.
Senior Henry Warner (Gladstone, N.J.) pitched the final three innings in relief of Prosinski for his first save of the season. Warner gave up just one hit in three scoreless innings.
The Pirates will return to action tomorrow when they face #2 St. John's at 1:00 p.m. in the second round. It'll be the fourth meeting between the teams in the last seven days. Ryan Harvey (SHU) and Sean Hagen (STJ) are the expected starters.
