Seton Hall Baseball Advances To Homestead Challenge Finals
3/18/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
- Box Score
HOMESTEAD, FL -- The Seton Hall baseball team defeated Dartmouth, 4-3, in the semifinals of the Homestead Challenge on March 17. The Pirates have won four straight games and are 5-1 in Homestead, FL.
Seton Hall took an early 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI double by junior catcher Adam Arslanian (Fair Lawn, NJ), scoring freshman left fielder Casey Grimm (Morristown, NJ).
The Big Green responded with three unearned runs in the bottom of the third to take a two-run lead.
The Pirates scored once in the fourth to make it a one-run game. Grimm led off the inning with a single to right. Following two quick outs, sophomore center fielder Mike Bascom (Ocean Township, NJ) singled, with Grimm moving to third on an error. Junior second baseman Joe Cuervo (Warren, NJ) followed with an RBI single, scoring Grimm.
In the sixth, Bascom's two-out RBI single scored sophomore Jeff Miller (Springfield, NJ) to tie the game.
Senior Alfie Critelli (Summit, NJ) hit a solo home run, his fifth of the season, in the top of the seventh inning to give the Pirates the lead.
Dartmouth threatened in the eighth, but Bascom threw out pinch runner Matt Klentak at the plate to end the inning.
Critelli went 3-for-5 for the Pirates, while Bascom collected four singles in the game. Senior right-hander Damon Ponce de Leon (Demarest, NJ) picked up his second victory of the season, striking out seven in eight innings. Sophomore southpaw Isaac Pavlik (Rutherford, NJ) earned his first collegiate save with tow strikeouts in the ninth.
On March 16, the Pirates shut out Hartford, 10-0, to advance to the semifinals. Seton Hall pounded out 13 hits, including seven doubles.
Junior right-hander B.J. Benik (Southampton, NJ) went the distance, allowing only three hits while striking out 12 en route to his third win of the season. Critelli and Miller had two doubles apiece in the game.
Seton Hall will face either St. Francis or Drexel in the championship game of the Homestead Challenge on March 18.
