Baseball Snaps Nine-Game Winning Streak, 7-4

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SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. The Seton Hall baseball team was unable to complete the three-game series sweep as they fell to West Virginia, 7-4, Sunday afternoon at Owen T. Carroll Field. Despite the loss, the Pirates won two-out-of-three in the series and remain in third place in the BIG EAST Conference standings with a 10-5 record.

Seton Hall (21-13, 10-5) took the early lead in the bottom of the second inning.  After junior Matt Smedberg (Rockaway, N.J.) walked, junior Tim McCann (Manasquan, N.J.) and senior Dan Lopez (Weehawken, N.J.) hit back-to-back singles.  Lopez’s was an RBI single scoring Smedberg.  With runners on second and third and no outs, freshman Sean Gusrang (Burlington, N.J.) ripped an RBI double into left field scoring McCann, however Lopez was thrown out the plate.

West Virginia (26-9. 7-5) came back to take a, 3-2, lead in the top of the third inning when sophomore Vince Belnome hit a three-run double to center field, however the Pirates came back to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth inning on a sacrifice-fly by Gusrang plating Lopez from third base.

With the game tied at three, West Virginia freshman Jedd Gyorko hit an RBI groundout to shortstop in the top of the fifth inning, freshman Dan DiBartolomeo hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning, and Belnome hit a two-run double to left field in the top of the seventh inning to give the Mountaineers a, 7-3, lead.

The Pirates would cut the lead to, 7-4, in the bottom of the seventh inning on an RBI double by sophomore Chris Spagnuolo (Tabernacle, N.J.), however Mountaineers closer sophomore Chris Enourato came in to induce a fly ball by senior Mark Pappas (Ocean Township, N.J.) to end the inning.  Enourato picked up his sixth save of the season with 2.1 perfect innings striking out four.

Gusrang led the Pirates with two doubles, a run scored, and two RBI and Spagnuolo also added two hits with a double and RBI.  Senior Tyler Kuhn went 4-for-5 with two runs scored for the Mountaineers.

Junior Greg Miller (Shamong, N.J.) (4-2) took the loss surrendering five runs on six hits in 5.2 innings, striking out five, while sophomore Billy Gross (5-1) earned the victory allowing four runs on nine hits in 6.2 innings.

The Pirates next game will be Tuesday afternoon when they travel to Princeton.  First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.