Seton Hall University
Villanova
Pirates Sweep Away Villanova For Series Win
3/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall University softball team picked up a doubleheader sweep and a series win over the Villanova Wildcats on Sunday afternoon at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field. The Pirates were able to bounce back in a big was from a series sweep suffered against DePaul earlier in the week, winning game one against the Wildcats 3-1, and holding on for a 7-5 win in game two.
Seton Hall 3, Villanova 1
Senior Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.) was the star in game one, leading the Pirates (13-18, 2-3) on the mound and at the plate. She earned the win, with one of her more impressive outings of the season, allowing just one run on four hits over seven innings with six strikeouts and a walk. She improved to 6-8 overall and registered her seventh complete game of the year.
DeStaso also homered for the fifth time this season and the 28th in her career. The second-best long-ball hitter in SHU history hammered a two-run shot over the center field wall in the bottom of the second inning, giving the Pirates an early 2-0 lead.
On the mound, DeStaso was in complete control after escaping a jam in the top of the first. The Wildcats (9-16, 1-4) loaded the bases with one out, but were unable to score. Chase Snell flew out center and DeStaso was about to get Kaylee Dalgarn looking for the final out of the frame.
Starting with the Snell fly out, DeStaso retired 12-straight Wildcats, throwing three-straight perfect innings. In the fifth, an Aleshia Ayers pop up that drifted past Sara Foster (Long Beach, Calif.) at second base and into right field ended that stretch, but the Wildcats would not score until the sixth, as Sierra McConnell drove in Brittany Husk with a sacrifice fly to right.
With the lead down to 2-1, freshman Alexis Walkden (Cibolo, Texas) ensured the Pirates would not be caught, smashing a solo shot to lead off the SHU half of the sixth and extend the lead to 3-1. It was her BIG EAST leading 10th of the year.
DeStaso slammed the door in the seventh, sitting Villanova in order with a pair of strikeouts. Walkden finished batting 2-for-3 with two runs scored, registering the only multi-hit game for The Hall.
Seton Hall 7, Villanova 5
The Pirates appeared to be headed to a comfortable game-two win after plating five in the bottom of the fifth to take a 7-1 lead. But the ending would not be without some drama as Villanova stormed back with four runs in the sixth and had the game-tying run at the plate in the seventh inning.
After falling behind 1-0 through a half inning, SHU made the most of a Lauren Herschberg fielding error at third, taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the frame. With the bases loaded, senior Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.) hit a grounder to third, but Herschberg failed to make a play as the ball rolled under her mitt and into left field. Two runs came home for the Pirates and they never trailed again.
Both offenses were stymied until The Hall broke out for five in the fifth. The bases were juiced with one out for catcher Faith Laudano (Islip, N.Y.) and she drove in the first run of the inning, sending a sacrifice to deep center field, which allowed Walkden to tag from third.
A Jackie DiPietro (Horsham, Pa.) bloop single into left allowed two more runs to score, making it 5-1, and then sophomore pitcher Lauren Fischer (Robbinsville, N.J.) helped her own cause with a two-run homer to right center, her first of the season.
What seemed like a comfortable lead would not stay that way for long. Fischer, who had not yielded a run since the first inning, immediately found trouble in the sixth. Snell led off with a double to right center, and she scored when three batters later Mackenzie Tilles dialed up the second two-bagger of the inning for the Wildcats.
A walk to Husk with the bases loaded made it 7-3, and Casey Moses (Lower Burrell, Pa.) was called upon to finish out the game. She forced a pair of ground ball outs in the sixth, and sat down three of the four batters she faced in the seventh to register her first save of the season.
Fischer improved to 5-8, throwing 5.1 innings while allowing six hits and four earned runs with a strikeout.
In the leadoff spot, Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a pair of stolen bases. Haefeli hit 1-for-3 with a double and run scored.
Seton Hall and Villanova will play their series finale on Monday afternoon at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field in South Orange, N.J. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
