Softball Splits Doubleheader at Connecticut

Akoua Lonergan went 4-for-8 with three runs scored on Saturday

STORRS, Conn. – The Seton Hall softball team scored seven runs over the final three innings of game two to earn an 11-6 win over Connecticut on Saturday at the UConn Softball Field and salvage a split of a doubleheader. The Pirates lost a heartbreaking 9-7 affair in eight innings in game one and now stand at 28-22 overall and 6-10 in the BIG EAST.

In game one, a pitcher’s duel turned into an offensive barrage in a hurry when UConn erased a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning with six runs. Undaunted, SHU came back with five runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 6-6. Sophomore Jenna Best (Medford, N.J.) and senior Jessica Schulien (Pequannock, N.J.) hit back-to-back doubles in the top of the seventh to give the Pirates a 7-6 lead, but UConn scored in the bottom of the inning on a double and two errors on the same play. In the bottom of the eighth, Micah Truax belted a two-run homer to give the Huskies a dramatic 9-7 win.

Junior righty Jessica Jones (Tyler, Texas) was tagged with the loss to fall to 4-9, pitching the final two-plus innings in relief, giving up two earned runs, three total runs and three hits. Best and Schulien each went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Pirates. Best scored three times and drove in a run, while Schulien drove in two.

In game two, the Pirates took advantage of eight UConn errors to score 11 runs on eight hits. The Pirates scored on a passed ball and double steal to take a 2-0 lead in the first. The Huskies tied it with two runs in the bottom of the inning, but the Pirates quickly came back and scored two more on an error, hit batter and RBI single by senior outfielder Akoua Lonergan (Allentown, Pa.), followed by another UConn error on a grounder that allowed SHU’s fourth run to score.

UConn gained the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Truax homered again, this time a three-run bomb that gave the Huskies a 5-4 advantage.

The Pirates struck in the top of the fifth, however, for three crucial runs. Schulien singled and went to second when freshman Amanda Winn (Manahawkin, N.J.) walked. An error led to Schulien’s run and freshman Daria Glynos (Kenilworth, N.J.) made UConn pay with an RBI single that made it 6-5. Winn scored on a wild pitch and the Pirates had a 7-5 lead.

In the sixth, Pierce reached on an error with one out and Best blasted her eighth home run to make it 9-5. Two more errors with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the seventh made it 11-5. The Huskies added a run in the bottom of the seventh to make the final score 11-6. Freshman right-hander Ashley Arnett (Saugus, Calif.) earned the win to improve to 9-6 on the season. She came on in relief of sophomore Maura Lund (Oak Park, Ill.) and finished with a line of three runs and five hits allowed in four innings.

Lonergan went 2-for-4 in each game for the Pirates and finished 4-for-8 with three runs scored, two RBI and a stolen base. Glynos was 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI in game two, setting a career-best in hits. Best concluded the doubleheader going 3-for-8 with a double, homer and three RBI.

The Pirates are in action on Sunday when they travel to Providence for a key BIG EAST doubleheader against the Friars at noon.

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