Pirates Fall as Notre Dame Rallies Late

Saturday, March 3

Kissimmee, Fla.

2:30 PM

Seton Hall University

3-5

Notre Dame

6-3

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Seton Hall	1	3	0	0	0	2	0	1	1	8	9	2
Notre Dame	0	0	1	1	1	0	3	1	2	9	10	3

3/3/2018 9:31:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

KISSIMMEE, FLA. – Sophomore Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) reached base five times, but the Seton Hall baseball team lost to Notre Dame, 9-8, on Saturday as the Fighting Irish scored twice in the ninth inning to complete a comeback win.

The Pirates never trailed until Notre Dame caught them late. An RBI single by Sebastiano Santorelli (Tuckahoe, N.Y.) got the offense started for the Pirates in the top of the first inning. The Hall scored three more in the top of the second thanks in large part to an error on the Irish's right fielder to take a 4-0 lead.

The Fighting Irish methodically chipped away, scoring single runs in the bottom of the third, fourth and fifth innings to cut the Pirate lead to 4-3. But Seton Hall extended its lead with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth thanks to another RBI single by Santorelli and an error by Irish right fielder Eric Gilgenbach.

With the score tied at six, in the top of the eighth, the Pirates worked a little two-out magic. With Christian Del Castillo (Miami, Fla.) on second base, Toke's RBI single to right field gave The Hall a 7-6 lead. In the bottom of the frame however, Notre Dame's Daniel Jung hit a leadoff solo home run to tie the game again.

In the top of the ninth, senior Rob Dadona (Staten Island, N.Y.) send a hard single into right-center field to score Ryan Ramiz (Freehold, N.J.) from second base with two outs to take an 8-7 lead.

Turning Point:
In the season's infancy, the Pirates' bullpen has shown few weaknesses, but in the bottom of the ninth inning, The Hall lost control of the strike zone. Matt Leon (Bethlehem, Pa.) and Blake Espinal (Bronx, N.Y.) combined to walk five batters in the inning as Notre Dame was able to score two runs without the benefit of a hit. With the bases loaded and no outs, Leon was able to induce a ground ball double-play, but the tying run scored. After another walk to put runners on the corners, Espinal entered, and walked two batters, the latter of which plated the winning run.

Inside the Numbers:

Toke reached base five times, going 3-for-3 with a double, two walks, a run scored and two RBIs.
Santorelli went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
Seton Hall starting pitcher Andrew Politi (Long Valley, N.J.) had his best start of the season, going five innings and allowing two earned runs in a no decision. He struck out five batters and walked only one.
Alescio walked twice, stole two bases and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Dadona reached base three times, going 1-for-3 with an RBI single and two walks.
Seton Hall had nine hits, compared to Notre Dame's 10, while the Pirates committed two errors and the Irish had three.
Seton Hall left 11 men on base, while Notre Dame left only four.

News & Notes:

The loss drops the Pirates to 3-5 on the young season, while Notre Dame improves to 6-3.
Seton Hall falls to 17-35 all-time against Notre Dame, a former BIG EAST opponent.
Toke has now reached base 10 times in his last two games.
Today's relief appearance is the 68^th of Leon's career, which ranks seventh-most in Seton Hall history. Former Pirate Luis Fernandez is sixth on the list with 70 appearances.

Next Up:
Seton Hall will return to action tomorrow when it completes play at the Kissimmee Irish Classic against Youngstown State. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.