Dana's Blast Propels Pirates to Butler Sweep

Sunday, April 22

Indianapolis, Ind.

12:00 PM

Seton Hall University

17-14-1, 5-1

Butler

24-11, 4-4

Seton Hall

Butler

4/22/2018 6:40:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – Freshman Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning as the Seton Hall baseball team rallied to defeat Butler, 7-5, on Sunday to complete a three-game series sweep.

Butler got a pair runs in the bottom of the first inning of Seton Hall starter Billy Layne, Jr. (Cliffwood Beach, N.J.), thanks in part to a Seton Hall error. The Pirates however, battled back with a pair of runs in to tie the score in the top of the third inning. Dana led off with a double down the left field line, and advanced to third on a groundout by Christian Del Castillo (Miami, Fla.). Connor Hood (Shrewsbury, Pa.) then hit a ball to left field that was misplayed, allowing Dana to score with the Pirates' first run, and enabling Hood to scamper all the way to third base. Senior Rob Dadona (Staten Island, N.Y.) followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to tie the game.

The Pirates took the lead in the top of the fourth, but single runs by Butler in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings put them in front.

Tyler Shedler-McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) led off the top of the seventh inning with a solo home run to tie the game at four, but the Bulldogs took the lead again off reliever Andrew Politi (Long Valley, N.J.) in the bottom of the seventh.

Turning Point:
Trailing 5-4 in the top of the eighth inning, Butler quickly recorded the first two outs. Ramiz singled and stole second base to get the rally started for Seton Hall. Shedler-McAvoy struck out, but reached first base on a dropped third strike. That's when Dana launched his team-leading fourth home run of the season over the left field fence.

Inside the Numbers:

Dana went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, two runs scored and three RBIs.
Ramiz was 2-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base.
Shedler-McAvoy belted his first home run of the season, drove in two runs, scored two runs and stole a base.
Hood had four productive at bats, going 1-for-1 with a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly, a walk, a run scored and an RBI.
Layne, Jr. allowed two earned runs over four innings in a no decision. He struck out five and walked only one.
Politi picked up the victory in relief.
Senior Matt Leon (Bethlehem, Pa.) earned his sixth save of the season with two perfect innings.
Seton Hall had eight hits, while Butler had 10. Both teams committed two errors.
Seton Hall left four men on base, while the Bulldogs left nine.
Butler's Josh Walker took the loss. He allowed three runs over two innings of relief.

News & Notes:

The victory improves the Pirates to 17-14-1 overall and 5-1 in BIG EAST play, while Butler falls to 24-11 overall and 4-4 in conference games.
Seton Hall is now 9-6 all-time against Butler.
The Pirates' sweep of Butler is its first since sweeping Villanova, May 12-14, 2017.
It's the first time since 2009 that Seton Hall has won its first two BIG EAST Conference series.
Today's appearance is the 79^th of Leon's career, which ties former teammate Sam Burum for fifth on the Pirates career list.
Seton Hall struck out 11 batters tonight. It's the 10^th time this season that the Pirates have reached double-figures in strikeouts.
Leon's save is the 10^th of his career. He has tied Chris Noonan for fifth-most in Seton Hall history.
The home runs by Dana and Shedler-McAvoy today give Seton Hall a total of 17 for the season. That's only two shy of Seton Hall's season total from 2017, and there are still 15 games remaining in the regular season.

Next Up:
Seton Hall will return to action on Tuesday, April 24 when it returns to Owen T. Carroll Field for a midweek contest with local rival NJIT. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.