Pirates Rally Late But Fall Short Against No. 18 UConn, 7-6

Thursday, April 14

South Orange, N.J.

11 a.m.

Seton Hall University

8-24, 2-2

Connecticut

26-7, 4-0

UConn

Seton Hall

Pirates Rally Late But Fall Short Against No. 18 UConn, 7-6

4/14/2022 4:04:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

South Orange, N.J. — The Seton Hall baseball team trailed by as much as 7-1 and was able to put the winning runs on base in the bottom of the ninth inning but it couldn't extend the game as the Pirates narrowly fell in the series opener to No. 18 Connecticut, 7-6, on Thursday afternoon.

The Pirates saw four hits and three runs scored from its bottom two hitters in the lineup; junior Oscar Murray (Brentwood, Calif.) and junior Mark McNelly (Limerick, Pa.). Freshman Pat D'Amico (Lynnfield, Mass.) made it a one-run game with a two-run base hit in the ninth. Out of the bullpen, The Hall saw strong efforts from junior Chris Shine (South Plainfield, N.J.), who struck out four and threw 88 pitches in 5.2 innings of relief, and sophomore Drew Conover.

How It Happened

The Huskies took a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the third where the Pirates tallied their first run on a walk with the bases loaded. UConn pushed two more runs across in the top of the fourth to take a 7-1 lead but Shine started to settle in on the mound. He retired the side in order in the fifth and struck out the side in the sixth that kept Seton Hall in the game. The Pirates' offense helped out the cause in the bottom of the sixth.

Senior Steve Grober (Hillsborough, N.J.) and graduate student Collin Sheehan (Doylestown, Pa.) led off the inning with back-to-back base hits and both were driven in on a bases clearing triple off the bat of senior Alex Clyde (Old Tappan, N.J.). On the next pitch, freshman Jedier Hernandez (Trenton, N.J.) sent a ball over the center fielder's head that plated Clyde and made it a three-run game, 7-4.

Meanwhile, the Seton Hall bullpen continued to do its job. Shine worked another 1-2-3 inning in the seventh and Conover retired the side in order in eighth, which featured a stellar diving play by Grober at third base where he dove to his left, stood up and threw the runner out at first base.

After Conover retired the side in the ninth, the Pirates looked to extend the game in the home half. Seton Hall got its first two runners on in the ninth off of singles by McNelly and Murray. Both runners were in scoring position and junior Jonathan Luders was hit by a pitch to load the bases for D'Amico. On a 3-2 pitch, D'Amico sent the ball into center, allowing two runs to score and making it a one-run game, 7-6. However, back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat and sealed the victory for UConn.

Inside The Box Score

The Pirates outhit the Huskies, 11-7, but UConn had three extra base hits to Seton Hall's two.
Luders reached base in three of his five plate appearances with a base hit and two hit by pitches.
Seton Hall went 5-for-9 leading off an inning.
Seton Hall's bullpen held the Huskies scoreless after the fourth inning and allowed only two hits.

Up Next

The series will pause in observance of Good Friday and will resume with noon doubleheader on Saturday.