Politi, McCarthy Quiet Nova as Bats Pound 16 Hits

Friday, April 27

South Orange, N.J.

6:00 PM

Seton Hall University

18-15-1, 0

Villanova

6-27, 0

Villanova

Seton Hall

4/27/2018 10:57:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Senior Shane McCarthy (Fair Haven, N.J.) and Andrew Politi (Long Valley, N.J.) held Villanova scoreless over the final eight innings as the Seton Hall baseball team defeated Villanova, 8-2, on Friday.

McCarthy ran into trouble in the top of the first inning, allowing two runs on a pair of hits, but settled down and held the Wildcats scoreless over the next four innings. Politi had another dominant performance out of the bullpen. The redshirt junior pitched to only two batters over the minimum, a walk in the seventh and an error in the eighth, in four hitless innings. Politi also matched his career-high with nine strikeouts.

Meanwhile, the Seton Hall offense erupted for 16 hits, led by Christian Del Castillo (Miami, Fla.) and Ryan Ramiz (Freehold, N.J.), who had three apiece.

Down 2-0, the Pirates offense tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. Senior Mike Alescio (Fair Haven, N.J.) led off the inning with a single through the left side, and came around to score on an RBI double by Ramiz. After Tyler Shedler-McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) successfully sacrificed Ramiz to third, freshman Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) drove him in with a perfectly executed bunt single.

Turning Point:
With the score still tied at two, the Pirates took control in the bottom of the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Del Castillo blooped a single to left field that scored a pair of runs and put The Hall in front, 4-2.

Inside the Numbers:

McCarthy allowed two runs over five innings with five strikeouts and only one walk in a no decision.
Politi pitched four shutout innings without allowing a hit. He matched his career-high of nine strikeouts and walked only one batter. He improved to 3-4 with the victory.
Ramiz went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Del Castillo went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Senior Rob Dadona (Staten Island, N.Y.) reached base three times, going 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.
Shedler-McAvoy had four productive at bats, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a sacrifice bunt, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base.
Dana reached base three times, going 2-for-3 with a walk, a run scored, two RBIs and a stolen base.
Seton Hall had 16 hits, while Villanova had only five. Seton Hall committed two errors, while the Wildcats had none.
Seton Hall left 10 men on base, while Villanova left eight.
Villanova's Jonathan Rosero took the loss. He allowed two earned runs over 0.1 innings pitched.

News & Notes:

The victory improves Seton Hall to 18-15-1 overall and 6-1 in BIG EAST play, while Villanova falls to 6-27 overall and 0-7 in the conference.
Seton Hall is now 85-43 all-time against Villanova. Furthermore, the Pirates have now won 14 of the last 16 games with the Wildcats.
The Hall has won six of its first seven BIG EAST Conference games for the first time since the 1994 season. The Pirates haven't gone 7-1 since winning 13 of its first 14 games in 1989.
McCarthy made his 46^th career start today, which ranks third-most all-time at Seton Hall. Only Jon Prosinski (57) and Joe DiRocco (49) have started more games in a Pirate uniform.
Seton Hall struck out 14 batters tonight. It's the 11^th time this season that the Pirates have reached double-figures in strikeouts.
The Pirates reached double-figures in hits for the 13^th time this season.
Seton Hall's team batting average is now up to a season-high .273.

Next Up:
Seton Hall will return to action tomorrow when it continues its three-game series against BIG EAST rival Villanova at Owen T. Carroll Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.