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Softball Outlasts (23-14) Stony Brook 7-6 in Extras

Halldan1

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Pirates walk off for third time this week, as Alexis Walkden drives in game-winner in the eighth.
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Lauren Fischer threw 7.2 innings to pick up the win over Stony Brook on Thursday.
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April 23, 2015

Box Score | Box Score

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall University softball team won in dramatic fashion once again, walking off for the third time this week as the Pirates outlasted Stony Brook University, 7-6, in eight innings at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field on Thursday afternoon.

After seeing what was at one point a 5-1 lead disappear during the late innings, the Pirates were able to force extras and then pull out the win. Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) led off the eighth with a single to right, and advanced to second on a Whitney Jones (Skowhegan, Maine) sacrifice bunt.

With first base open, Alexis Walkden (Cibolo, Texas) stepped to the plate. She had walked twice already, once intentionally, but the Seawolves opted to pitch to her. Facing an 0-2 count, she drilled a double to the gap in right center, allowing Harrell to score easily on the play, while lifting her team to its third walk off victory in as many days.

That intentional walk issued to Walkden came back in the fourth, when with two outs Stony Brook loaded the bases for senior Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.). Haefeli presents her own challenges to opposing pitchers, hitting .311 with 13 homers, and she proceeded to line a two-RBI double into center field, helping the Pirates grab a 5-1 lead.

Stony Brook scored twice in the sixth to pull within two runs, but the Pirates were still just three outs away from a win heading into the seventh.

Lauren Fischer (Robbinsville, N.J.) had been cruising until that two-run sixth, which led to Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.) coming in for a save opportunity in the seventh. However, after retiring the first batter she faced, DeStaso issued a walk to Chelsea Evans and then Bria Green tied the score with a two-run shot out to left.

The Seawolves were not finished, taking their first lead of the game as Shayla Giosia made it back-to-back home runs. Fischer was called upon to come back out and extinguish the threat, but the Pirates still needed one in the last of the seventh to extend the game.

That run came with one out and the bases loaded, as Jackie DiPietro (Horsham, Pa.) chopped a base hit into left, scoring Walkden from third to tie the game. Seton Hall had a chance to close things out in regulation, but Allison Cukrov was able to retire Sam DeMasi (Lockport, Ill.) and Fischer to end the inning.

Fischer yielded a pair of singles in the eighth, but kept the Seawolves from retaking the lead, setting up The Hall's dramatic finish.

Throwing 7.2 innings, the most for an SHU pitcher this season, Fischer improved to 8-9 overall, and gave up three runs on nine hits with three strikeouts.

Harrell had yet another productive day at the top of the lineup, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Jones continued to swing a hot bat as well, going 3-for-4 with an RBI while scoring twice; she drove in the game-winner in game two against Drexel on Tuesday. Haefeli drove in three on a pair of base hits and DeStaso went 2-for-2 with an RBI and run scored.

Seton Hall returns to action this weekend, for a critical BIG EAST series against Butler University in Indianapolis, Ind. The Pirates currently trail the Bulldogs by a half game for the fourth and final spot in the BIG EAST Tournament, with six conference games remaining for all eight league teams.

They will play a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 12 p.m., with the series finale to follow Sunday at 12 p.m.

http://www.shupirates.com/sports/w-softbl/recaps/042315aaa.html
 
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