Re: Seton Hall Beats Xavier
Baseball Sweeps Xavier for Eighth Straight
Pirates down Xavier, 5-2, in the second game of Saturday's double-header.
April 4, 2015
Box Score
Sal Annunziata
CINCINNATI, OHIO -- Senior Sal Annunziata (Bronx, N.Y.) reached base four times as the Seton Hall baseball team swept Xavier with a 5-2 victory in game two of Saturday's double-header for its eighth straight win.
After starting the season with just one win in its first nine games, Seton Hall has gone 14-2 since, including its first three in BIG EAST Conference play.
Annunziata was responsible for driving in the Pirates' three runs of the game. He finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBIs, a run scored, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
For the third straight game, Seton Hall's offense started quickly and pushed a run across in the first inning. With two outs and the bases empty, D.J. Ruhlman (Belle Mead, N.J.) doubled down the left field line. Annunziata followed with an RBI single to left to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead.
In the third inning, Joe Poduslenko (Glen Mills, Pa.) led off with a single up the middle. Zack Weigel (Oak Park, Ill.) followed with an infield single, which advanced Poduslenko to second. After Derek Jenkins (Annandale, N.J.) grounded into a fielder's choice for the first out of the inning, Ruhlman was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Annunziata followed with a single to right field to plate two more runs and extend The Hall's lead to 3-0.
Meanwhile, Seton Hall starter Zach Schellenger (Malvern, Pa.) was rolling. The 6-foot-5 right-hander kept the Musketeers off the scoreboard until his control waivered in the sixth inning and he gave up a two-out run. Still, the freshman turned in another quality outing, going 5.2 innings with just one earned run, four strikeouts and just one walk for his first collegiate victory.
Xavier put runners on the corners with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, but reliever Matt Leon (Bethlehem, Pa.) did a fine job of limiting the damage to just one run, which was scored on a passed ball, cutting the Pirates lead to 3-2.
The Pirates tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning. With two outs, Annunziata was hit by a pitch and both Alex Falconi (Freeport, N.Y.) and Tyler Boyd (Succasunna, N.J.) walked to load the bases. Mike Caputo (Morganville, N.J.) followed with a two-RBI single through the left side to extend The Hall's lead to 5-2.
Sophomore Joe DiBenedetto (Staten Island, N.Y.) pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his second save of the day.
In addition to Annunziata, Poduslenko, Ruhlman and Weigel all had two hits.
Seton Hall will return to action on Wednesday, April 8 when it hosts Wagner at Owen T. Carroll Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
http://www.shupirates.com/sports/m-basebl/recaps/040415aac.html