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Pirates Open Four-Game Series With Creighton On Friday

Halldan1

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Jan 1, 2003
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Seton Hall's final home weekend of the season will see the BIG EAST's top two teams​


SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - A pivotal stretch will wrap up the regular season for the Seton Hall baseball team and it begins this weekend when the Pirates welcome BIG EAST rival Creighton to Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium at Owen T. Carroll Field for a four-game series starting on Friday, May 14, at 3 p.m.

Seton Hall will honor 15 seniors -- 13 players and two managers -- after Sunday game as part of Senior Day.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

The department will allow two parents or guardians of each Seton Hall student-athlete to attend an outdoor competition that is hosted on campus, including games at Owen T. Carroll Field for men's and women's soccer, Mike Sheppard Sr. Stadium for baseball and Mike Sheppard Sr. Field for softball.

Unfortunately, due to capacity limits, this policy does not apply towards parents or guardians of members of the opposing team or members of the general public.

PROJECTED STARTERS (subject to change)

Friday -
RHP Ryan McLinskey (4-0, 2.00 ERA) - Live Stream | Live Stats

Saturday (DH) -
RHP David Festa (5-2, 1.81 ERA);
LHP Joe Cinnella (3-2, 2.45 ERA) - Live Stream Game 1 | Live Stream Game 2 | Live Stats

Sunday -
LHP Tyler Burnham (3-4, 3.70 ERA) - Live Stream | Live Stats

NEWS & NOTES
  • The Bluejays (11-2 BIG EAST, .846) and the Pirates (14-5 BIG EAST, .737) rank first and second in the BIG EAST, respectively.
  • Creighton and Seton Hall were picked to finish second and third, respectively, in the BIG EAST preseason poll behind Connecticut.
  • Seton Hall's 14 BIG EAST wins are the most in the conference.
  • The Pirates are coming off of a split with Xavier last weekend where senior Tyler-Shedler McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) hit two key home runs in the two wins and was later named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
  • Senior Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) leads the BIG EAST and ranks fourth in the country with 24 stolen bases.
  • As a team, the Pirates lead the BIG EAST and rank 27th in the nation with 66 stolen bases.
  • Huntzinger (24), Shedler-McAvoy (14) and redshirt freshman Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.) each rank in the top three in the conference stolen bags.
  • Gale leads The Hall with a .422 batting average in conference play (min. 15 games).
  • Graduate student Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) has stayed hot after being named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll two weeks ago when he hit .467 (7-for-15) with two doubles, five RBI and three runs scored while playing stellar defense at first base against the Georgetown.
  • Toke -- a unanimous selection on the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad -- is hitting .385 in conference games with 15 RBI.
  • Graduate student Connor Hood (Shrewsbury, Pa.) battled back from an offseason injury and has returned earlier than expected to hit .340 in BIG EAST play.
  • Seton Hall ranks in the top three in the BIG EAST in hitting (3rd, .273), pitching (1st, 3.87 ERA) and fielding (2nd, .972).
 
BO0A0044.jpg


Seton Hall's final home weekend of the season will see the BIG EAST's top two teams​


SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - A pivotal stretch will wrap up the regular season for the Seton Hall baseball team and it begins this weekend when the Pirates welcome BIG EAST rival Creighton to Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium at Owen T. Carroll Field for a four-game series starting on Friday, May 14, at 3 p.m.

Seton Hall will honor 15 seniors -- 13 players and two managers -- after Sunday game as part of Senior Day.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

The department will allow two parents or guardians of each Seton Hall student-athlete to attend an outdoor competition that is hosted on campus, including games at Owen T. Carroll Field for men's and women's soccer, Mike Sheppard Sr. Stadium for baseball and Mike Sheppard Sr. Field for softball.

Unfortunately, due to capacity limits, this policy does not apply towards parents or guardians of members of the opposing team or members of the general public.

PROJECTED STARTERS (subject to change)

Friday -
RHP Ryan McLinskey (4-0, 2.00 ERA) - Live Stream | Live Stats

Saturday (DH) -
RHP David Festa (5-2, 1.81 ERA);
LHP Joe Cinnella (3-2, 2.45 ERA) - Live Stream Game 1 | Live Stream Game 2 | Live Stats

Sunday -
LHP Tyler Burnham (3-4, 3.70 ERA) - Live Stream | Live Stats

NEWS & NOTES
  • The Bluejays (11-2 BIG EAST, .846) and the Pirates (14-5 BIG EAST, .737) rank first and second in the BIG EAST, respectively.
  • Creighton and Seton Hall were picked to finish second and third, respectively, in the BIG EAST preseason poll behind Connecticut.
  • Seton Hall's 14 BIG EAST wins are the most in the conference.
  • The Pirates are coming off of a split with Xavier last weekend where senior Tyler-Shedler McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) hit two key home runs in the two wins and was later named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
  • Senior Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) leads the BIG EAST and ranks fourth in the country with 24 stolen bases.
  • As a team, the Pirates lead the BIG EAST and rank 27th in the nation with 66 stolen bases.
  • Huntzinger (24), Shedler-McAvoy (14) and redshirt freshman Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.) each rank in the top three in the conference stolen bags.
  • Gale leads The Hall with a .422 batting average in conference play (min. 15 games).
  • Graduate student Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) has stayed hot after being named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll two weeks ago when he hit .467 (7-for-15) with two doubles, five RBI and three runs scored while playing stellar defense at first base against the Georgetown.
  • Toke -- a unanimous selection on the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad -- is hitting .385 in conference games with 15 RBI.
  • Graduate student Connor Hood (Shrewsbury, Pa.) battled back from an offseason injury and has returned earlier than expected to hit .340 in BIG EAST play.
  • Seton Hall ranks in the top three in the BIG EAST in hitting (3rd, .273), pitching (1st, 3.87 ERA) and fielding (2nd, .972).
Score?
 

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Pirates Tripped Up By Creighton In Series Opener, 6-1​


Toke goes 2-for-4 in the loss to the Bluejays​


SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Creighton used a four-run fourth inning to get by the Seton Hall baseball team as the Bluejays topped the Pirates, 6-1, on Friday afternoon.

Senior Ryan McLinskey (Pearl River, N.Y.) struck out five in 3.2 innings of work but took the loss for The Hall (21-18, 14-6 BIG EAST). Graduate student Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) continued his hot hitting with a 2-for-4 outing. He's now registered multi-hit performances in six of his last 11 games

McLinskey started off the game by retiring the side in order but Creighton got on the board thanks to an RBI single in the top of second that made it 1-0. In the top of the fourth, the Bluejays took advantage of some Seton Hall miscues to extend their advantage to 5-0.

The Pirates looked to respond in the home half of the fourth as senior Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) – who later went on to score The Hall's lone run of the game in the bottom of the ninth – led off the frame with a base hit. He moved to second after senior Connor Hood (Shrewsbury, Pa.) drew a four-pitch walk with one out but neither of them advanced further.

Hood would send home Dana on an RBI groundout in the ninth inning but it wouldn't be enough to extend the game.

Up Next:

The Pirates and the Bluejays will play a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. Game one will be seven innings and game two will be nine innings. Both games will be streamed on the Pirate Sports Network.
 
Don’t we have conference games next weekend that could determine the regular season champ depending on how we and Creighton do next weekend??
 
Don’t we have conference games next weekend that could determine the regular season champ depending on how we and Creighton do next weekend??
Yes, we would be playing at UConn who has not lost a home game this season.
 
Checking the UConn split makes me wonder who umps the home games behind the plate. :oops:
 

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Pirates Roll Past Creighton In Doubleheader Sweep​

Seton Hall has clinched a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament for the 10th consecutive season.​


SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – After dropping the series opener on Friday, the Seton Hall baseball team responded in emphatic fashion by defeating Creighton 15-0 in game one and 5-3 in game two to sweep the Saturday doubleheader at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium at Owen T. Carroll Field.

The Pirates (23-18, 16-6 BIG EAST) will be one of four teams heading to the BIG EAST Tournament in Mason, Ohio for the 10th consecutive season as they clinched a spot with their win in the first game and following other results from around the conference.

Junior David Festa (Verona, N.J.) dazzled in the first game as he improved to 6-2 on the season with a seven-inning, eight-strikeout, one-hit shutout. Classmate Nick Payero (Monroe, N.J.) earned his fourth win of the season in game two after tossing 3.1 innings of shutout, one-hit relief with six strikeouts. Senior Season Miller (Newton, N.J.) picked up his team-best fourth save of the season in the nightcap.

Graduate student Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) continued his hot hitting by going 3-for-7 with two doubles and three RBI over the two games. Redshirt freshman Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.) crossed the plate four times on Saturday and senior Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) delivered the go-ahead RBI in the bottom of the sixth in game two.

Game One

Festa retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced and the Bluejay that reached on a walk was erased as Festa picked him off at first base in the top of the second.

The Pirates gave Festa some run support to work with the bottom half of the fourth. With senior Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) and Toke on the corners after both reached on base hits, senior Tyler Shedler-McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) put the ball in play with a bunt and that allowed him to reach and Dana to score, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead. A one-run double down the left field line off the bat of junior Steve Grober (Hillsborough, N.J.) and a two-run single down the same line by sophomore Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) extended the Seton Hall advantage to 4-0.

The scoring wouldn't stop there in the fourth as an RBI single by Hack with the bases loaded pushed the lead to 5-0 and a single by Dana followed by a throwing error by the third baseman allowed all three runs to score, making it 8-0.

Festa worked a clean top of the fifth before the Pirates tacked on four more runs on back-to-back sacrifice flies by Huntzinger and Dana and a bases clearing, two-run double by Toke that broke the game open and made it 12-0 Seton Hall. The final score of 15-0 came thanks to three more runs in the sixth on RBI base knocks by Huntzinger and Dana and a bases loaded walk drawn by Toke.

Game Two

The second game of the twin bill was more of a back-and-forth affair. The Bluejays struck first in the top of the second on an RBI groundout but the Pirates responded quickly in the home half. Graduate student Connor Hood (Shrewsbury, Pa.) led off the inning with an infield hit and later found himself on third with two outs. Gale put the ball in play and reached on an error committed by the third baseman that allowed Hood to score.

Creighton answered by taking a 3-1 lead in the top of third but The Hall knotted up the score again with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third. Following consecutive walks to lead off the inning, Hood moved Dana and Toke over to second and third on a sac bunt. That set the stage for Shedler-McAvoy who punched a single through the right side and tied up the game at 3-3.

Starter Joe Cinnella (Mahway, N.J.) settled in by striking out the first two batters of the fourth before retiring side in order. Payero came on for him in relief in the fifth with one out and runners at first and second. Payero caught a runner trying to steal third for the first out and got the next batter swinging for the third.

With the score stilled tied at 3-3 entering the bottom of the sixth, Grober started a two-out rally with a single to center field and Gale followed with a base hit of his own. Sophomore Devin Hack (Somerville, N.J.) entered as a pinch runner at second base and his speed was put to use as Huntzinger delivered the go-ahead base hit on a single up the middle. Luders kept the line moving a single to center that plated Gale from second and gave the Pirates a key insurance run.

Payero continued to dominate with two strikeouts in the top of the seventh and two more in the top of the eighth that gave him six on the day. Freshman Zane Probst (Mill Hall, Pa.) came on in relief with two outs and a runner on second and got the hitter to ground out to junior Alex Clyde (Old Tappan, N.J.) at shortstop to end the inning.

The Pirates went down in order in the eighth but Miller came on for the save in the ninth and he got the first batter swinging and the third batter of the inning to ground into a 1-4-3 double play that gave the Pirates the 5-3 win.

Up Next

Seton Hall and Creighton now play an 11:30 a.m. series finale tomorrow. The Senior Day ceremony that will honor 13 players and two managers will take place after the game. The game and ceremony will be streamed on the Pirate Sports Network.
 
They lose 3-1. So now they will probably finish 2nd or 3rd in league play. They finish at UConn and
Creighton has Nova. Looks like SHU and UConn will battle at the BE Championship to face a solid Creighton team in a title game. Xavier will probably be the other team. Could they get the automatic bid? Maybe, but it doesn't look great at this point. No lightsout starter, shaky bullpen and key hitters with bad at bats in important situations make it difficult to get into NCAA's. The BigEast is a one bid mid-major conference.
 
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Creighton Gets By Seton Hall On Senior Day, 3-1​

Pirates split the four-game series with the Bluejays​


SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall baseball team scored first on an RBI single by senior Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) in the bottom of the sixth inning but it wouldn't be enough as the Pirates fell in the series finale to Creighton, 3-1, on Sunday.

The Pirates (23-19, 16-7 BIG EAST) split the series with the Bluejays (21-11, 13-4 BIG EAST) as both teams entered the weekend as the top two teams in the BIG EAST. Seton Hall still has the most league wins of any team in the conference and they have no lost a BIG EAST series this season.

Senior Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) went 2-for-4 from the lead-off spot and senior Mike Esposito (Chester, N.J.) had a double and a run scored. Both were honored postgame along with 11 other senior Pirates for playing their final home games at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium at Owen T. Carroll Field.

Both teams were even through the first five innings of play before starter Tyler Burnham (East Brunswick, N.J.) faced a jam in the top of the sixth. The Bluejays had the bases loaded and no one out but the senior southpaw induced a sharp ground ball to sophomore Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) at third base who tossed it home to senior Collin Sheehan (Doylestown, Pa.) for the first out and then went to graduate student Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) at first to complete the 5-2-3 double play. Sophomore Aaron Groller (Harleysville, Pa.) then came on in relief of Burnham and recorded the final out of the inning.

The Pirates used that momentum to strike first in the home half of the sixth. Esposito led off with a double to left field and with one out moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt put down by Luders. Dana then stepped to the plate delivered a sharp line drive over the head of the shortstop that plated Esposito and gave the Pirates an early 1-0 lead.

Groller worked a clean seventh inning before the Bluejays struck with three runs in the eighth to take a 3-1 lead. Despite the Pirates putting runners on in the eighth and ninth innings, Creighton was able to secure the victory.

Up Next

The Pirates will next travel to Connecticut to take on the Huskies in a four-game series beginning on Thursday at 6 p.m. The following weekend, Seton Hall will head to the BIG EAST Tournament in Mason, Ohio as one of four teams – along with Creighton, Connecticut and Xavier – to compete for the conference championship.
 
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