Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Rutgers

Box Score
PISCATAWAY, NJ (March 23, 2001) - Junior centerfielder Mike Bascom (Ocean Township, NJ) doubled, homered and drove in a pair of runs as Seton Hall topped Rutgers 8-5 in the first game of a BIG EAST doubleheader. Rutgers rallied to win the second game 7-3 at the Class of '53 Baseball Complex.

Seton Hall is 7-10 overall and 3-2 in the BIG EAST. Rutgers moves to 14-6 and 4-1 with its first conference loss.

In the opener, Seton Hall trailed 2-1, but took control with three runs in the top of the second inning. Junior second baseman Josh Schuck (Edison, NJ) led off the second inning with a double and advanced to third when sophomore third baseman Joe Scott (Old Tappan, NJ) reached on an error. With one out, Scott stole second and Schuck scored on a throwing error to tie the game at 2-2. Freshman designated hitter Santiago Chi (West New York, NJ) gave the Pirates the lead when he drove in Scott with a single to center. Chi came around on Bascom's two-out double to left.

Seton Hall scored in each of the first five innings in building an 8-2 lead. Senior catcher Adam Arslanian (Fair Lawn, NJ) led off the third inning with a home run to centerfield - his first of the season. Bascom hit his first homer of the season with two out in the top of the fourth, giving the Pirates a 6-2 lead.

Chi, who went 2-for-3, added another RBI single in the top of the fifth when he drove in Scott to put Seton Hall ahead 8-2.

Rutgers closed the gap with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Scarlet Knights loaded the bases with one out on a walk to Val Majewski, an infield single by Billy McCarthy and a walk to Mike Popowski. Leftfielder Todd Speedy doubled down the leftfield line, scoring two runs. Popowski came home on a groundout as the Scarlet Knights cut the lead to 8-5.

Seton Hall starter B.J. Benik (Southampton, NJ) worked into the seventh inning as he picked up the win to improve his record to 2-2. Junior left-hander Isaac Pavlik (Rutherford, NJ) retired the final three batters in the seventh to gain his second save.

In the second game, Seton Hall scored single runs in the first and second innings to take a 2-0 lead. Sophomore leftfielder Casey Grimm (Morristown, NJ) singled in Joe Cuervo in the top of the first. Schuck singled in Scott in the top of the second.

The Pirates maintained their lead until the bottom of the fourth inning. Popowski and Speedy connected for back-to-back home runs off Seton Hall starter Mike Wren (2-2) to tie the game at 2-2.

Seton Hall briefly regained the lead in the top of the fifth. Grimm, who doubled with one out, scored on a two-out single by Arslanian to put the Pirates ahead 3-2.

Rutgers took its first lead in the bottom of the fifth. After Brian Ciemniecki and Matt Wolski singled, rightfielder Billy McCarthy belted a three-run homer to left to give the Scarlet Knights a 5-3 lead. Rutgers added two runs in the seventh inning on a bases-loaded single by Ryan Lillis.

Right-hander Tom Wheeler scattered ten hits over seven innings to pick up the win for Rutgers.

Seton Hall had 13 hits in the second game and 24 for the doubleheader. Grimm, who had four hits in the second game, went 6-for-8 in the doubleheader to pace the Pirates. Chi went a combined 4-for-7 in the two games while Bascom, Arslanian and Schuck added three hits each.

Seton Hall returns to action on Sunday, March 25 when it travels to Pittsburgh for a BIG EAST doubleheader beginning at noon.