Seton Hall University
East Carolina
Softball Splits on Final Day at Pirate Snow Classic
2/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 16, 2014
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Junior right hander Casey Moses (Lower Burrell, Pa.) allowed just one run on five hits over seven innings as the Seton Hall University softball team defeated Delaware State 7-1 on Sunday morning at the East Carolina Pirate Snow Classic.
However, the Pirates were unable to complete the weekend sweep, falling to host ECU in the afternoon contest, 11-6. Seton Hall finished the weekend with a 2-1 record, also picking up a 9-1 win over Drexel on Saturday evening.
Seton Hall 7, Delaware State 1
The Hornets had no answer for Moses as the junior did not allow more than one base hit in any inning. She also finished with four strikeouts while issuing just two walks without allowing an earned run.
Offensively Seton Hall scored quickly as the usual suspects at the top of the lineup teamed up to manufacture a run. Sophomore Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) led off the game with a single to center, and stole second base, where she scored easily on a Meredith Henze (Elkton, Md.) RBI base hit to right.
The Pirates tallied just one hit over the next three innings, but in the top of the fifth broke the game open with a five run frame. Sophomore Faith Laudano (Islip, N.Y.) led off with an infield hit to the right side and junior Sam DeMasi (Lockport, Ill.) reached on a fielding error to put two on with no outs.
Senior Maria DeLuca (Cedar Grove, N.Y.) delivered the first big base hit, a single to right, scoring two on the play. In the next at-bat junior Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.) drove in two more runs, doubling to center field, and freshman Lauren Fischer (Robbinsville, N.J.), who pinch ran at second for DeStaso, wrapped up the big inning when she scored on a pass ball.
Harrell (2-for-4) and Henze (2-for-3) both recorded multi-hit games for the Pirates. Harrell also stole two bases and Henze, while seeing her four-game home run streak come to an end, extended her career best hit streak to seven-straight games.
East Carolina 11, Seton Hall 6
East Carolina jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning and scored three more runs in the second to take a commanding 7-0 lead. Seton Hall fought back in the later innings but was never able to fully recover from the big early deficit.
Fischer started at pitcher for SHU and gave up four runs in the first before senior Jen Metzger (Pine Hill, N.J.) relieved her with two outs. Metzger went back out to the circle to start the second inning and appeared to be out of the inning unscathed before a Harrell error in center field with two outs allowed two runs to score.
Moses shutout the ECU offense in the third and allowed one run on two hits in the fourth and in the bottom of that inning Seton Hall went to work on cutting into the home team's lead.
The first four batters of the inning reached for SHU, with DeStaso and Moses walking while sophomore Jackie DiPietro (Horsham, Pa.) recorded a bunt single. Sophomore Alex Rabbetts (Corona, Calif.) drew the third walk of the inning, bringing a run home in the process, and Laudano grounded out to second for the first out of the inning, but she brought Moses home on the play.
More pitching woes for East Carolina led to Seton Hall's third run as DiPietro scored on a wild pitch, and Harrell smacked a two-out RBI single to left to bring Rabbetts across the plate and make it 8-4.
That margin would not last for long as ECU scored three runs on four hits in the top of the fifth go move back in front by seven. The Pirates scored twice more in the fifth, with DiPietro singling down the left field line to scored DeStaso and DeLuca, but that was as close as they would get.
DiPietro started in left and went 2-for-4 at the plate with the two RBI and a run scored. Henze stretched her hitting streak to eight-straight games dating back to last season, hitting 2-for-4 while Harrell (2-for-4, RBI) and DeLuca (2-for-4) also recorded multi-hit games.
Seton Hall's tournament season continues next weekend when the Pirates will head to Tempe, Ariz., for four games at the Arizona State Diamond Devil Invitational. SHU opens tournament play with #5/5 Arizona State on Friday night at 9:30 p.m. (ET).
