Seton Hall University
Connecticut
Hall Gets Crucial Win Over UConn
4/28/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall University softball team picked up a crucial victory to keep its postseason hopes alive by defeating the University of Connecticut, 10-5, on Sunday afternoon at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field in South Orange, N.J.
With the victory the Pirates improve to 6-12 in the BIG EAST and trail Connecticut (7-12) by just a half game in the league standings with three conference games remaining. Seton Hall concludes its BIG EAST regular season slate with a three-game series at Georgetown next Saturday-Sunday, May 4-5.
Seton Hall found itself in familiar territory in the first inning. The Huskies jumped out to big leads in both games of the series on Saturday and Brittany Duclos delivered a two-RBI base hit in the top of the first on Sunday to propel her team to a 3-0 cushion.
That lead would be very short lived as the Pirates responded with six runs in the bottom half of the first to gain the momentum. Seton Hall scored in a variety of ways, tallying five hits and taking advantage of one UConn fielding error to accrue its six runs.
Freshman Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) and senior Brittany Hammer (Manheim, Pa.) led off the inning with back-to-back base hits and both scored on a Maria DeLuca (Cedar Grove, N.J.) double off the wall in left center.
Junior Meredith Henze (Elkton, Md.) drove in the next run, singling to right to score DeLuca from third. Seton Hall tacked on three more runs thanks to a Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.) bases loaded walk and a Lexi Gifford throwing error late in the inning that allowed sophomore Colltey Sheldon (Peoria, Ariz.) and freshman Jackie DiPietro (Horsham, Pa.) to score unearned.
Sophomore btook over at pitcher for Seton Hall in the second and kept the Connecticut offense off balance for the rest of the afternoon. She gave up just five hits over the final six innings, allowing two earned runs. Moses went on to earn her second victory of the weekend.
With Moses in control the Pirates were able to extend their lead. The next scoring strike came in the fourth as DeLuca blasted a line drive two-run home run out to left, giving her team an 8-3 lead. It was her sixth home run of the season and fourth in the last 10 games.
Harrell wrapped up her big offensive day with a two-out two-RBI base hit in the SHU half of the fifth to extend the Seton Hall advantage to 10-5.
Jacklyn DuBois hit a solo home run to left for the Huskies in the top of the sixth to narrow their deficit to five, but that was as close as they would get.
Harrell finished the game hitting 3-for-4 with two RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases. With the pair of steals she tied Michelle Reed for the single-season steals record at 27. She also extended her season-best hitting streak to 11-straight games, which is just one shy of tying the school individual season record of 12-straight games, matched five times the last coming in 2008.
DeLuca was 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored, Sheldon continued to swing a hot bat with three base hits and a run scored.
Seton Hall has three non-conference games this week before it resumes BIG EAST play next weekend. The Pirates return to action for a single game at Saint Peter’s on Tuesday, April 30, at 4 p.m.
