Seton Hall University
Providence
Walkden Homers Twice in Providence DH Split
4/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Seton Hall University softball team was able to salvage a doubleheader split at Providence College on Monday afternoon, suffering a disappointing 2-1 loss in eight innings in game one before bouncing back to grab game two, 7-4.
Providence 2, Seton Hall 1 (8 inn.)
In what turned into a pitcher's duel, Seton Hall grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third thanks to a pair of big hits from senior Sara Haefeli (Montclair, N.J.) and freshman Alexis Walkden (Cibolo, Texas) in what would become a reoccurring theme on the day.
Walkden led things off with a single to center field, then came all the way home from first as Haefeli doubled to center. From that point, both offenses were stymied until Providence broke through for the tying run in the sixth.
Starter Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.) had been cruising through the first five innings, yielding just two hits and five total base runners. Her final stat line was two earned runs allowed on five hits with eight strikeouts, but ultimately it wasn't enough to earn a win.
During the Friar half of the sixth, Kristie Dederick was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, a mistake that proved costly. Brittney Veler was called on to pinch run, and two singles later, she scored to tie the game.
Seton Hall nearly brought what could have been the winning run home in the next half inning, but junior Jackie DiPietro (Horsham, Pa.) was stranded at third after a pair of fielding errors nearly doomed Providence. DiPietro reached on fielder's choice grounder, but was able to move into scoring position thanks to a Taylor Huntly error on the mound.
A double steal moved both DiPietro and pinch runner Sara Foster (Long Beach, Calif.) into scoring position, but Huntly escaped the jam with consecutive groundouts from Valerie Suto (Mercerville, N.J.) and Yasmin Harrell (Cheektowaga, N.Y.).
In the bottom of the eighth, Dederick walked off with a leadoff home run, allowing the Friars to grab a 2-1 win.
Seton Hall 7, Providence 4
The Pirates fared better in game two, and that was due in large part to getting back to piling up the extra-base hits.
Walkden set the tone in the top of the first, sending a solo home run over the wall to make it 1-0. The score was still 1-0 in the top of the third when Walkden went yard for a second time, her BIG EAST leading 12th of the season. It was the third multi-home run game of the year for the freshman slugger, which along with Haefeli's three makes it six multi-homer performances this season for the Pirates; they entered the year with just 13 in program history.
Providence would briefly tie the game thanks to some yard work of its own. Nicole Lundstrom hit a two-run shot with one out to make it 2-2, but SHU starter Lauren Fischer (Robbinsville, N.J.) limited the damage to just those two runs.
The tie lasted just a few moments because in the next half inning, With two outs and one on, Providence elected to intentionally walk Walkden, which seemed to make sense being that she had burned them twice already. However, that just brought Haefeli to the plate, who already had a pair of doubles on the day, and this time she blasted a three-run shot to left center, scoring three and giving the Pirates a 5-2 lead.
Seton Hall capitalized on a pair of Providence errors to tack on two more runs in the top of the sixth. Down four, the Friars attempted to rally as Nadia Kemp led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo homer, but senior Casey Moses (Lower Burrell, Pa.) came in to relieve Fischer and retired three of the four batters she faced to preserve the win.
With her two home runs, Walkden took over sole possession of the BIG EAST lead with 12 this season, just one more than Haefeli, who now sits in second with 11.
Harrell went 1-for-4 in game one and 2-for-4 in game two, extending her hitting streak to seven-straight games, although remarkably her BIG EAST batting average actually dropped to .520, after she entered the day hitting north of .600 in conference play. DiPietro also racked up a pair of base hits and went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Fischer improved to 6-8, giving up four runs on five hits with a strikeout in six innings.
Seton Hall and Providence will meet for game three of the series on Tuesday morning in Providence, R.I. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.
