Errors Plague Softball in Doubleheader Sweep Against #9 Louisville

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 fell to #9 Louisville twice, by scores of 6-3 and 6-1, on Saturday afternoon at Ivy Hill Park. The Pirates (20-24, 2-11) committed a combined 10 errors in the two games, leading to eight unearned runs scoring for the Cardinals (42-2, 13-2).

Taner Fowler kicked off the scoring in the top of the second with a towering two-run shot to put Louisville on top.

Freshman Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.), who surrendered the homer in the top half of the inning, helped her own cause with a home run over the leftfield wall cut the deficit in half, 2-1.

A leadoff walk by Cashel Gaffey (East Lyme, Conn.) put the tying run on base, and with two outs Kristen Kaelin (Parlin, N.J.) gave SHU the lead with one swing of the bat after belting her sixth long ball of the season off of reigning BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week, Tori Collins.

The Pirates were just six outs away from the upset before the floodgates opened for the Cards. Fowler delivered her second dinger of the day to even the score, 3-3. DeStaso issued a walk to the next batter before being lifted in favor of Brooke Tull (Greenwood, Del.).

Tull got the first batter she faced to ground to second, but an errant throw by Maria DeLuca (Cedar Grove, N.J.), who was trying to get a force play at second, put two runners in scoring position. DeLuca followed with a nice play to get the second out at the plate, but Jennifer Esteban reached on an infield single to plate the go-ahead run and an overthrow of first base brought in an insurance run to make it 5-3. Kristen Austin would follow with an RBI single to cap the scoring.

SHU brought the tying run to bat in the bottom of the sixth after a single by Laura Canulli (Naperville, Ill.) and a walk to Kaelin. However, relief pitcher Caralisa Connell retired the next three batters in order and held the Pirates scoreless in the seventh to earn the save.

Sophomore Meredith Henze (Elkton, Md.) was 2-for-3 in the opener.

DeStaso took the decision (5-9) after tossing 5.1 innings, allowing three earned runs with three strikeouts. Tull allowed two unearned runs and struck out one while recording the final five outs.

In game two, Fowler was in the middle of another Louisville rally, doubling to start the second inning. An infield hit and an error loaded the bases. With two outs, Esteban hit a grounder to Brittany Hammer (Manheim, Pa.), who was ranging towards third base. The shortstop opted to throw home, but her throw was high allowing the runner on second to score as well to put the Cardinals ahead 2-0. Austin compiled two more RBI after a single up the middle to give Louisville the four-run cushion.

After another Fowler big fly in the top of the third made it 5-0, the Pirates played small ball to get a run back in the bottom half of the inning.

Freshman Whitney Jones (Skowhegan, Maine) led off with a base hit and moved to second on a ground out. A wild pitch pushed her to third, and Canulli hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 5-1.

However, the Cardinals capitalized on the fourth Seton Hall error of the game in the fifth inning to restore the five-run lead and Connell retired the final nine Pirates in order to pick up the complete-game victory.

Freshman Casey Moses (Lower Burrell, Pa.) fell to 6-7 on the season, throwing 4.1 innings allowing just one unearned run with a pair of strikeouts. Tull pitched well out of the bullpen again in the nightcap, issuing just two hits in a scoreless final 2.2 innings.

Seton Hall will look to steal a game from the Cardinals in the final game of the series on Sunday. First pitch is set for 11:00 a.m.