Pirates Fall as Hawaii Wins on Walk Off Home Run

Sunday, March 25

Honolulu, HI

7:05 PM

Seton Hall University

9-10-1

Hawaii

13-6

Seton Hall

Hawaii

3/26/2018 12:34:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

HONOLULU, HI. – The Seton Hall baseball rallied to tie the game on a two-out RBI single by Christian Del Castillo (Miami, Fla.) in the top of the ninth inning, but Hawaii won in walk-off fashion in the bottom half of the inning, 8-6, on a two-run home run by Johnny Weeks.

The Pirates took full advantage of some weak Hawaii defense, erupting for three runs in the top of the third inning, and two more in the top of the fifth to take a 5-1 advantage. The Rainbow Warriors however, rallied against relievers Andrew Politi (Long Valley, N.J.) and Blake Espinal (Bronx, N.Y.), whose control issues led to a pair of Hawaii runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings.

Hawaii took the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning on a bases loaded walk by Corey Sawyer (Kearny, N.J.). The run was charged to Dylan Verdonk (Losser, Netherlands), who pitched well before running into trouble in the eighth inning.

Meanwhile, The Hall's offense was muted by the relief pitching of Hawaii's Jeremy Yelland. He retired 13 of the 15 batters he faced, including 10 strikeouts.

Trailing 6-5 with the bases empty and two outs in the top of the ninth inning, senior Rob Dadona (Staten Island, N.Y.) grounded a 1-2 pitch to the Hawaii shortstop. Maaki Yamazaki threw wide of first base, and the error allowed Dadona to advance to second base. Del Castillo followed with his RBI single through the left side to tie the game.

Turning Point:
With one out and a runner on first base, Hawaii's Johnny Weeks sent a two-run home run over the left field fence to win the game for the Rainbow Warriors.

Inside the Numbers:

Sophomore Tyler Shedler-McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) led the Pirates with three hits. He went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.
Senior Al Molina (Freehold, N.J.) went 2-for-5.
Seton Hall starting pitcher Ricky DeVito (Staten Island, N.Y.) allowed one run over four innings with four strikeouts and two walks in a no decision.
Verdonk tossed a career-high 2.1 innings and allowed one run.
Seton Hall had seven hits, while Hawaii had 13. Hawaii committed two errors, while the Pirates had just one.
Seton Hall left six men on base, while the Rainbow Warriors left 14.
Hawaii's Jeremy Yelland picked up the win in relief. He allowed one run over 4.1 innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks.

Next Up:
Seton Hall will return to action tomorrow when it concludes its four-game series at Hawaii. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. HT (12:35 a.m. ET).