Baseball Crushes NJIT, 15-2
3/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Box Score (html)
Box Score (pdf)
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall baseball team sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first inning scoring eight runs on six hits en route to defeating NJIT, 15-2, in a rain-shortened seven inning game at Owen T. Carroll Field. The game was the first of a four game-weekend for the Pirates during the Strike Out Cancer Tournament. Their second game, originally scheduled against Lafayette at 3:30 p.m. this afternoon, has been postponed.
Following a 1-2-3 top of the first inning by right-handed starter Joe DiRocco (East Hanover, N.J.), the Pirates (3-7) stepped to the plate to deliver their most productive inning of the year. Michael Rogers (Portland, Ore.) began the inning with a triple and came around to score on a double by A.J. Rusbarsky (Freehold, N.J.). Bobby Migliazza (Stamford, Conn.) drove Rusbarsky home with a double of his own and later came around to score on a wild pitch for the Pirates third run.
Chris Fontenelli (Toms River, N.J.) got involved in the offense with a two-run double and Rusbarsky hit a bases clearing three-run triple to give the Hall an, 8-0, advantage.
Seton Hall tacked on two more runs in the home half of the second when Ryan Sullivan (Stony Point, N.Y.) plated Frank Esposito (Staten Island, N.Y.) from third base with an infield single and scored on a double by Bobby Abreu (Piscataway, N.J.).
NJIT (2-6) scored their runs in the top of the third and fourth innings when catcher Jesus Jaile belted an RBI double and Teddy Bickert scored on a wild pitch to cut the lead to, 10-2, but the Pirates continued to score runs in their half innings to put the game away.
Sean Gusrang (Burlington, N.J.) picked up an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to end the game 1-for-2 with an RBI and two hit-by-pitches, while Abreu and pinch-hitter Scott Kalamar (Bethlehem, Pa.) each drove in runs with sacrifice-fly balls to left field in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Rusbarsky led the way for the Pirate offense with four hits, five RBI, and two runs scored, while Rogers and Esposito recorded two hits each.
DiRocco (2-1) picked up the win with eight strikeouts in five innings of work while Mark Leiter (1-2) took the loss for the Highlanders surrendering 10 runs on nine hits while striking out four in three innings. Henry Warner (Gladstone, N.J.) finished the day on the mound for the Pirates with two scoreless innings striking out two batters.
The Pirates return to action Saturday afternoon against Lafayette in a regular scheduled game during the Strike Out Cancer Tournament. The game, which was originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m., will now start at 3:30 p.m. Prior to the game, NJIT and Lafayette will square off at Noon.
