Seton Hall picked up its first win over UConn since 2017 in walk-off fashion as the Pirates won the first game of a doubleheader in the bottom of the ninth i...
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Seton Hall Walks-Off UConn In Doubleheader Split
South Orange, N.J. — Seton Hall picked up its first win over UConn since 2017 in walk-off fashion as the Pirates won the first game of a doubleheader in the bottom of the ninth inning, 2-1, before rallying but ultimately coming up short in game two, 5-2, on Saturday at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium.
Ryan Reich (Sellinsgrove, Pa.) and
Michael Gillen (Rochelle Park, N.J.) combined to allow just three hits and one run in the first game as Reich threw six innings and Gillen picked up the win after tossing three scoreless innings of relief.
Andrew Bianco (Kings Park, N.Y.) delivered the game-winning hit in his lone at-bat of the first game after coming win as a defensive replacement.
Danny Melnick (Hamilton, N.J.) had three RBI over the two games and
Zack Sylvester (Montville, N.J.) went 2-for-3 in the series finale.
How It Happened
UConn put a runner on in the top of the first inning with two outs but Reich was able to work around trouble. In the home half,
Aiden Robbins (Yardley, Pa.) pulled a one-out double to left field and Melnick drove him in on a two-bagger of his own that gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead. It marked the second time in as many games against the Huskies that the Pirates scored first.
However, the Huskies responded in the top of the second with an RBI double of their own that tied up the score at 1-1. What followed was a pitcher's duel between Reich and UConn's Garrett Coe. The Huskies put the lead-off runner on in the top of the fourth but was quickly erased after
Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) snared a liner for the first out and retired the runner at first for the double play. Both sides were retired in order in the fifth before Riech worked a scoreless sixth inning that featured his fifth strikeout of the game.
In the home half of the sixth, Sylvester led off with a walk and Melnick reached on an error that gave the Pirates two runners on.
Cole Zak (Cleveland, Ohio) moved both runners into scoring position on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt but the next two batters were retired to end the Seton Hall threat.
Gillen entered the game in the top of the seventh where he worked a scoreless frame before retiring the next six batters in a row that kept it a 1-1 game. In the bottom of the ninth, Zak led off with an infield single to the first baseman. He moved to second base on a sac bunt put down by
Joey Calabretti (Perkasie, Pa.) and then went to third on a groundout. With two outs, Bianco was the next batter and he poked a 3-2 pitch down the right field line that drove in the game-winning run.
In game two, Hansen retired the first six batters he faced in order before the Huskies took a 1-0 lead on a one-out double. After a base hit by
Staus Pokrovsky (Pittsgrove, N.J.) that led off the bottom of the third, 13 Pirates were retired in order. Sylvester ended the Pirates' cold streak in the bottom of the seventh by singling through the left side with one out. However, he was quickly erased as UConn turned a 6-4-3 double play that ended the inning.
With UConn leading 5-0 entering the bottom of the ninth,
Max Viera (Greenwood Lake, N.Y.) singled to right field with two outs that kept Seton Hall alive. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for the Pirates before Melnick delivered once again with a single to right center that scored and cut the deficit to three, 5-2.
Up Next
Seton Hall's final home series is next weekend as the Pirates open a three-game series with St. John's at 4 p.m. on Friday.