Seton Hall University
Pittsburgh
Softball's Late Rally Just Short
4/14/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall University softball team’s late rally against the University of Pittsburgh fell just short as the Pirates lost to the Panthers, 8-7, in the BIG EAST series finale on Sunday afternoon at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field in South Orange, N.J.
Seton Hall (14-21, 2-9) trailed by as many as six runs and was down 5-0 through just one half inning but thanks to a couple of home runs the Pirates were right back in it, down three, 8-5, heading into the bottom of the seventh.
Freshman centerfielder Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) started the late rally with a base hit out to left before proceeding to swipe second base, her team-leading 20th steal of the season.
A couple of misplays one at bat later allowed the Pirates to cut the Pittsburgh deficit down to two. Senior Brittany Hammer (Manheim, Pa.) reached first on a throwing error by Panther shortstop Kaila Balatgek, and a misplay near the fence resulted in the errant throw being knocked out of play, bringing Harrell home and putting Hammer all the way at third.
Sophomore Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.) grounded out to second, scoring Hammer to make it just a one run Pittsburgh lead, but the Panthers got Maria DeLuca (Cedar Grove, N.J.) to ground out to second to end the game.
It was a Carly Thea grand slam off DeStaso in the top of the first inning that provided Pittsburgh (16-22, 5-7) with its sizeable early advantage.
Sophomore Casey Moses (Lower Burrell, Pa.) came in to relieve DeStaso in the first and kept the Panther offense at bay for the next three innings as the Pirates started their comeback.
The first big strike came off the bat of sophomore Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.). Junior Meredith Henze (Elkton, Md.) led off the SHU half of the third with a single and Haefeli homered to left to make it 5-2.
While the Pirates had pulled back within three that margin would be only temporary. Pittsburgh tacked on three more runs during its half of the fourth to go up by six only again Seton Hall had an answer.
In the bottom of the sixth the Pirates put two on with one out and DeLuca made the Panthers pay with a three-run shot over the fence in left-center field, her third home run of the season.
During the defensive half innings junior Jen Metzger (Pine Hill, N.J.) prevented Pittsburgh from extending its lead any further, giving up a mere one hit with two strikeouts over the final three innings. But Seton Hall’s final comeback attempt fell just shy by one run in the seventh.
Harrell and Haefeli both recorded multi-hit games for the Pirates. Harrell was 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot with a run scored and a steal while Haefeli hit 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
Seton Hall returns to action this Tuesday, April 16, when it hosts Hofstra in a non-conference doubleheader at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field starting at 4 p.m.
