Seton Hall University
Miami (Ohio)
Sheldon Powers Hall Past Miami
3/16/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Sheldon belted a fifth-inning grand slam against Texas Tech, but ultimately the Pirates upset bid over the Red Raiders fell just short. Texas Tech broke a 4-4 tie with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
In the win over Miami, Sheldon went 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. She gave Seton Hall a 3-2 lead with a two-RBI double in the top of the seventh, and eventually brought home the game winning run with her second extra base hit of the game with two outs in the ninth.
The home run against Texas Tech was the first of Sheldon's career and it was the first grand slam for Seton Hall this season. Sheldon entered the day with four career RBI and doubled that total with one swing of the bat. The four RBI are the second-highest single game total for a Seton Hall batter this season.
Sophomore Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.J.) threw 8.1 innings in the win over Miami, allowing four runs, two earned, with five strikeouts to pick up her team-leading eighth victory of the season.
-- Game One --
Texas Tech jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks in part to a big second inning. A two-out rally resulted in a bases clearing three-RBI triple for Mikey Kenney as the Red Raiders staked claim to a 3-0 lead.
In the fourth Texas Tech saw its first four batters reach base, with a run coming across when Kenney was hit by a pitch. Junior Jen Metzger (Pine Hill, N.J.) started the game for Seton Hall and allowed four runs on four hits through three innings but was relieved by sophomoreDeStaso with the bases loaded and nobody out in the fourth.
DeStaso retired the next three batters to escape the jam and in the top of the fifth the Pirates came all the way back to tie the game.
Freshman Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) and senior Brittany Hammer (Manheim, Pa.) hit back-to-back singles to start the inning, and DeStaso drew a walk to load the bases. After freshman Alex Rabbetts (Corona, Calif.) grounded into a double play, junior Maria DeLuca (Cedar Grove, N.J.) walked, loading the bases for a second time, which is when Sheldon capitalized on the opportunity with a two-out grand slam.
DeStaso retired the Red Raiders in order in the fifth, but Texas Tech secured the win with a three-run sixth inning. Sandy James recorded the big hit of the inning with a two-out two RBI home run to left field to make it 7-4.
Hammer notched her fifth multi-hit game of the season, finishing 3-for-4. DeStaso allowed three runs, only one earned, on two hits with four strikeouts in three innings of work.
-- Game Two --
Miami started out with the upper hand in what turned out to be a thrilling back and forth extra inning affair. Allie Larrabee hit a two-out RBI single to give the Redhawks a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, and in the third Shanyn McIntyre came up with the second RBI base hit of the game.
Seton Hall got one run back in the fifth. Hammer led off the inning with a double to left center, the 22nd of her career which leaves her one shy of cracking the top-10 in Seton Hall history, and she scored thanks to an RBI single off the bat of Rabbetts.
The Pirates still faced a 2-1 deficit heading into the seventh inning and Seton Hall was down to its last out with Hammer at second base, after she singled then advanced on a DeStaso grounder.
Eventually the Hall would load the bases, as DeLuca hit an infield single to second and Rabbetts walked, setting the table for Sheldon to bring two runs home with a double down the left field line and give Seton Hall its first lead of the game, 3-2.
Seton Hall was unable to preserve the lead in the last of the seventh, paving the way for the Pirates' second extra-inning game of the season. The teams traded runs in the eighth and then in the top of the ninth inning Sheldon's second two-RBI double of the game gave Seton Hall a 6-4 lead.
It did not look like that cushion would last long. Kayla Ledbetter was placed on second to start the Miami ninth, and quickly scored as Taylor Shuey doubled to left center. But DeStaso gave up just one more base hit and held the Redhawks to only the one run.
Hammer finished the game batting 2-for-5 with three runs scored and DeLuca was 3-for-4, scoring twice. Sheldon finished the day batting 4-for-6 with eight RBI.
Seton Hall returns to action for two more games out in sunny San Diego, Calif., on Saturday, March 16. The Pirates face Texas-Arlington at 2:30 p.m. (ET), and San Diego State University at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
