Seton Hall University
DePaul
SHU Falls in Doubleheader at DePaul
4/3/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
CHICAGO, ILL. – The Seton Hall University softball team fell twice in a midweek BIG EAST Conference doubleheader at DePaul University on Wednesday afternoon in Chicago, Ill., losing a back-and-forth first game, 5-4, and falling in game two, 18-5.
The Pirates erased a two-run deficit with a big fifth inning in game one, only to see DePaul come right back and tie the game in the bottom half of the inning and regain the lead, 5-3 in the sixth.
Seton Hall (11-18, 1-7) scored one run in the top of the seventh and had runners at second and third with one out but was unable to plate the equalizer and extend the game.
DePaul (20-13, 7-1) led 8-0 after two innings in game two. Seton Hall rallied for four runs in the third, capped off by a two-run Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.) homer to centerfield, cutting the DePaul lead in half. However the Blue Demons answered with eight in the bottom half of the inning.
-- Game One --
Although Seton Hall threatened in the top of the first it was not until the fourth inning that either team found its way onto the scoreboard when DePaul broke through for two runs, only to see Seton Hall answer right back with a three-run fifth.
Freshman Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch on the first at bat of the game and senior Brittany Hammer (Manheim, Pa.) made it two on with no outs as Bree Brown committed an error at second. Kirsten Verdun struck out two of the next three SHU batters to end the early Pirate threat.
The Blue Demons took advantage of back-to-back singles to open the fourth inning to score the first two runs of the game. Samantha Dodd singled to right and May Connolly recorded a base hit to center to start the DePaul half of the frame.
Dodd would score on a Verdun sacrifice fly to center and the second score was plated on a Seton Hall misplay at first base with two outs in what should have ended the inning.
Facing a deficit for the first time all day Seton Hall responded with a three run fifth to shift the momentum back squarely in its favor. The first run came quickly. Freshman Alex Rabbetts (Corona, Calif.) drew a leadoff walk, and was pinch run for by classmate Faith Laudano (Islip, N.Y.). Sophomore Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.) hit a laser shot all the way to the wall in centerfield to score Laudano from first and cut the SHU deficit in half.
Sophomore Sam DeMasi (Lockport, Ill.) put runners on the corners with no outs thanks to a bunt single and Haefeli came home to tie the game on yet another base hit bunt, this time from freshman Jackie DiPietro (Horsham, Pa.).
DePaul immediately tied the game again as Brown led off the Blue Demon half of the fifth by homering out to left field. The next two DePaul batters would also record base hits but DeStaso escaped the jam to keep the score tied.
That stalemate didn’t last long, with DePaul regaining a two-run lead in the bottom of the sixth. Seton Hall’s comeback attempt ultimately fell just short but the Pirates had the tying run just 90 feet away in the seventh.
Harrell reentered the game to reach base on a Verdun fielding error and stole second base, her team-leading 13th steal of the season. With one out junior Maria DeLuca (Cedar Grove, N.J.) singled to center, scoring Harrell from second. Earlier in the inning DeStaso reached on a walk and junior Jen Metzger (Pine Hill, N.J.) was brought in as a pinch runner.
A pass ball allowed the Pirates to move two runners into scoring position in DeLuca and Metzger, with just one out, but sophomore Colltey Sheldon (Peoria, Ariz.) popped out to third on a squeeze attempt and Rabbetts grounded out to second to end the game.
-- Game Two --
Four of DePaul’s first five batters recorded a base hit during a six-run first inning for the Blue Demons and DePaul added two more scores in the second.
Seton Hall bounced back in a big way by scoring four times in its half of the third. The first two runs came home as part of an odd error by DePaul centerfielder Megan Coronado. Sophomore Whitney Jones (Skowhegan, Maine) was hit by a pitch and Harrell reached on a bunt single.
Hammer was the next to step to the plate, smacking a base hit into centerfield. As Hammer rounded first Coronado attempt to catch her off guard, but instead threw the ball out of play, brining Jones and Harrell home. A few pitches later the error became a moot point with DeStaso knocking her team-leading fifth home run of the season out to centerfield.
DePaul scored eight times in the bottom of the third to regain control of the game. The Pirates tacked on one more run in the fifth as Hammer hit a two-RBI double down the right field line to score DiPietro from second.
Seton Hall plays a pair of non-conference doubleheaders this weekend. The first is a pair of home games against Marist on Saturday, April 6, starting at 12 p.m. The Pirates then head to Loudonville, N.Y., to face Siena in a doubleheader on Sunday, April 7, also at 12 p.m.
