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Happy Selection Sunday

Happy selection Sunday,

I imagine I'm not alone in saying I got more joy from Seton Hall basketball than I possibly would have imagined before the season. We came in with fairly low expectations - most expected us to be in a grouping with DePaul and Georgetown - and our team blew those expectations away. They represented Seton Hall well and gave us plenty to cheer about, winning 13 Big East games and finishing just 1 (triple OT) game out of second.

We hope that today's announcement gives us more meaningful games to play, but even if it doesn't - remember that after the 12/9 game and even as late as 12/19, if anyone mentioned the words "Seton Hall" and "bubble" in the same sentence every single one of you, even the most optimistic, would have laughed them out of the room.

This team has done us proud and given themselves a chance, but they face the strongest bubble perhaps ever plus an abnormal number of bid thieves. It's very possible it doesn't happen, and I recommend we all come to peace with that. It'll be disappointing if it goes that way, but don't let it spoil the whole season. They gave us plenty to be proud of and brought us joy. That's the whole point of sports, is it not?

Relax, enjoy your Sunday, and it is what it is.

Go Pirates!

Frontera's Strong Start Not Enough In Opener Against Stony Brook, 1-0


Stats


South Orange, N.J. — Despite a strong start from Daniel Frontera and a 10-hit game from the offense, the Seton Hall baseball team couldn't take the opening game of a three-game set against Stony Brook as the Seawolves topped the Pirates, 1-0, on Friday afternoon at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium.

Frontera posted seven strikeouts and scattered just three hit and allowed one walk in 6.2 innings of work. He also retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced. The Pirates tallied 10 hits but went 0-of-16 with runners in scoring position.

How It Happened

Frontera retired the first six Seawolves he faced in the first two innings before allowing an infield hit with two outs in the top of the third. However, that baserunner was quickly erased when Frontera used a nifty pick-off move to get the runner out at first and end the frame.

With one out in the bottom half of the third, Kyle Lyons gave the Pirates their second runner in scoring position on the day with his second double of the season but he could not reach home plate.

Frontera walked the lead-off man in the fourth and later advanced to second on a passed ball. With a runner now in scoring position, Frontera was able to pick off his second runner of the game for the first out of the inning. Frontera then induced two pop-ups to end the frame. With two outs in the home half, Andrew Bianco and Pat D'Amico (Lynnfield, Mass.) reached on back-to-back base hits. The next batter was Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) and he made solid contact but it was directed back to the pitcher who fielded it and threw to first for the final out.

Aiden Robbins (Yardley, Pa.) led off the fifth with a single and Staus Pokrovsky (Pittsgrove, N.J.) reached after getting hit by a pitch with two outs but neither were able to score. After the Pirates stranded two more runners in the sixth, Stony Brook took advantage of the Pirates' squandered opportunities by taking a 1-0 lead on a solo home run.

Michael Gillen (Rochelle Park, N.J.) came out of the bullpen in relief of Frontera and he retired the side in the eighth and turned a lineout double play in the top of the ninth inning. Despite Gillen's performance, the offensive couldn't muster a run and extend the game.

Tough to figure this team out

All season long we’ve been the proverbial roller coaster. It’s been the winter of champagne one game and pepto bismal the next.

Tough to figure this team out but a lot of it is mental. We can’t play when we want to play. It has to be every single minute of every single game. This team can be very good and also very bad it depends on their temperature on game day.

They don’t seem to be cohesive and play for each other like Providence has. Fight till the end.

That’s why I believe if we get a bye we take a first round knock out to the chin based on our attitude. However if we get a bye i truly believe we make it to the second weekend.

NET Happenings

Seton Hall moved up to #66 following the win at Butler. At now 4-2 against Q1, they are second in the country Q1 wins with 4. Only 7 out of 362 teams in America have at least 4 Q1 wins at this point. Wild.

#1 Houston, 4-2
#9 Connecticut, 4-2
#12 Wisconsin, 4-3
#16 Kansas, 5-5
#35 Villanova, 4-0
#42 Texas A&M, 4-4
#66 Seton Hall, 4-2

It seems every year there's a team or two that has a profile like Seton Hall's where the metrics are slow to catch-up to the team's improvement.

For the upcoming homestand, currently St. John's is #34, Creighton #14, Providence #69.
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