Baseball Loses Rubber Match to Villanova 12-5
4/22/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall University baseball team dropped its rubber match with Villanova University, 12-5, on Saturday afternoon at Owen T. Carroll in South Orange, N.J. The Wildcats broke the game open by scoring six runs in the eighth inning to clinch the 2-1 series victory.
After dropping the first game of a double header in extra innings the Pirates seemed to have fresh approach in game two, scoring in the bottom of the first inning to stake claim to an early 1-0 lead. Junior Mike Genovese (Livingston, N.J.) smacked a triple down the right-field line and scored on a Will Walsh (New Milford, N.J.) sacrifice fly to center field.
Villanova (22-19, 6-9) came right back by scoring twice in the next half inning to take a 2-1 lead that it never gave up. Seton Hall (21-18, 8-7) starter Brian Gilbert (Toms River, N.J.) allowed the first three batters of the inning to reach base, and the Wildcats tied the game as leadoff man Marlon Calbi drew a bases loaded walk to bring home John Cialone.
Gilbert gave up two more extra base hits in the third inning, doubles to Steve Schrenk and Cialone, which led Pirate skipper Rob Sheppard to call on junior Frank Morris (Levittown, Pa.) in the bullpen. Gilbert, who fell to 2-4 on the year, gave up three runs on four hits with two strikeouts and four walks in 2.2 innings.
The Wildcats scored again in the fourth to pull ahead 4-1, but Seton Hall was right back into the game with a pair of runs in the bottom half of that inning. Freshman Kyle Grimm (Bergenfield, N.J.) singled to centerfield and came all the way around from first to score on a Dale Anderson (Alberta, Canada) double to the gap in left-centerfield.
Freshman Alex Falconi (Freeport, N.Y.) kept the offense rolling with a base hit to left, allowing Anderson to move over to third, where he was driven in by senior Michael Betz (Mine-Hill, N.J.).
Betz was the last batter that Villanova starter Kevin MacLachlan faced as he was replaced by Stephen Ostapeck who came in to record the final two outs and end the threat.
The teams traded runs in the fifth with Villanova's Brandon Carr doubling home Steve Schrenk before Anderson notched his second RBI of the day, a base hit to left field to score Papaccio.
Villanova maintained its slim 5-4 lead through the next two innings before breaking the game open with a six-run eighth inning. The Wildcats brought 10 batters to the plate in the eighth, scoring the six runs on four hits with two walks and one Seton Hall error in the field.
Pinch-hitter Adam Nelson delivered the most devastating blow of the rally with a base-clearing three-RBI double to left field to put Villanova in front 9-5.
Genovese was 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Anderson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored and Betz was 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored.
Seton Hall returns to action on Tuesday, April 24, when it travels to West Long Branch, N.J., to take on Monmouth University. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
