Softball Takes Two From Villanova

GAME ONE BOX SCORE (.html)

GAME ONE BOX SCORE (.pdf)

GAME TWO BOX SCORE (.html)

GAME TWO BOX SCORE (.pdf)

 

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. The Seton Hall softball team pulled off a sweep of Villanova on Saturday, winning game one in nine innings, 2-1, before taking a 7-6 win in game two.  The Pirates (20-31, 6-14) host Rutgers tomorrow at noon on Senior Day.

Game one was a pitcher’s duel from the start between sophomore Ashley Forsyth (Freehold, N.J.) of SHU and Villanova’s Laura Determan.  The Pirates did not record their first hit until the fifth inning, a one-out double by freshman Brittany Schillizzi (Paramus, N.J.), who was stranded at third as the game remained scoreless after five innings.

The Wildcats finally broke through in the top of the sixth when Allie Heon led off with a homerun that just cleared the left field fence, making it 1-0. 

With SHU still down 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh, junior Amanda Winn (Manahawkin, N.J.) ripped an opposite field homer to leadoff the inning and give the Pirates new life.  Determan got out of the frame without any further damage, and the game moved into extra innings.

In the bottom of the eighth the Pirates loaded the bases with two outs, but Determan retired junior Shannon Pease (Binghamton, N.Y.) to keep Villanova alive.

In the bottom of the ninth, senior Ashley Constantini (Newark, Del.) doubled off the fence with one out, just missing a walkoff homerun.  With two away, junior Maggie Simkiss (Exton, Pa.) grounded to short, but Villanova’s Jackie Dempsey overthrew the first baseman, allowing Constantini to score and give the Hall a thrilling 2-1 win.

Forsyth (11-14) picked up the complete game victory, allowing one run on six hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.

Junior Kealan Waldron (Oak Park, Ill.) was 2-for-4 at the plate for SHU.

The Pirates struck early in game two, taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the first.  With the bases loaded and two outs, Schillizi hit an RBI single to the shortstop to draw first blood.  Constantini followed with a single up the middle that scored Waldron and Pease.

Villanova tied the game in the fourth when two runners scored on a throwing error by junior pitcher Kim Schweitzer (Syracuse, N.Y.), followed by an RBI single by Meghan Morese.

SHU answered in the bottom of the frame, going up 4-3 when Waldron knocked in Simkiss with an RBI single.  Senior Jenna Best (Medford, N.J.) followed with a sacrifice fly that brought home junior Leah Menichetti (Jessup, Pa.) and gave the Hall a 5-3 advantage.

The game continued to go back-and-forth in the fifth inning, with Villanova’s Lisa Curran launching a two-out, three-run homer to give the Wildcats a 6-5 lead.

The Pirates responded again in the bottom of the inning, tying the game when Schillizzi, who had doubled, scored on a single by Constantini to tie the game.  An inning later, Waldron smacked a leadoff shot over the left field fence to make it 7-6 in favor of the Hall.

Senior Jessica Jones (Tyler, Texas) picked up the win with two innings of scoreless relief to move to 3-1 on the year.  She scattered three hits while striking out one.

Determan took the loss in game two as well for Villanova.

Constantini was 2-for-3 with 3 RBI, while Waldron was also 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI.  Simkiss was 2-for-2, while Schillizzi was 2-for-4.