Pirates Drop Rubber Game to St. John's, 6-3

Saturday, May 12

South Orange, N.J.

TBD

Seton Hall University

25-18-1, 0

No. 17 St. John's

34-12, 0

St. John's

Seton Hall

5/12/2018 8:59:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Senior Ryan Ramiz (Freehold, N.J.) delivered a bases-clearing three-run double to tie the game in the fourth inning, but the Seton Hall baseball team fell to No. 17 St. John's, 6-3, in the series-deciding game two of a doubleheader on Saturday.

The Pirates mustered only one hit over the first three innings, while St. John's built a 3-0 lead off Seton Hall starter Billy Layne, Jr. (Cliffwood Beach, N.J.). The Hall's offense however, broke through in the bottom of the fourth. The Pirates loaded the bases with no outs, and Ramiz cleared them with double to deep left-center field, tying the game at three. A throwing error allowed Ramiz to advance to third on the play, but St. John's reliever Jeff Belge was able to strand Ramiz at third.

Despite allowing the early runs, Layne, Jr. pitched well, allowing just two earned runs over five innings with five strikeouts and no walks.

Turning Point:
With Noah Thompson (Frisco, Texas) on the mound in relief of Layne, Jr. to begin the top of the sixth inning, St. John's took the lead for good. The Red Storm got back-to-back hits with two outs to drive in two runs.

Inside the Numbers:

Layne, Jr. allowed two runs over five innings with five strikeouts and no walks in a no decision.
Ramiz drove in all three Pirate runs with a bases-clearing three-RBI double.
Junior Dylan Verdonk (Losser, Netherlands) struck out the side in a scoreless ninth inning.
Seton Hall had three hits, while St. John's had nine. The Pirates had five errors, while St. John's had three.
Seton Hall left six men on base, while the Red Storm left 11.
St. John's Jeff Belge earned the win in relief. He allowed no hits over 3.1 scoreless innings.
The Pirates were held hitless over the last five innings.

News & Notes:

The loss drops Seton Hall to 25-18-1 overall and 11-4 in the BIG EAST, while St. John's improves to 34-12 overall and 13-2 in conference play.
Seton Hall falls to 59-70 all-time against St. John's.
The Hall has clinched at least the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Championship. Among the teams below Seton Hall in the standings, only Butler can match its 11 wins, but the Pirates own the tie-breaker. The Pirates can still win the regular season title, but they must sweep Georgetown next weekend and St. John's has to get swept by Butler.
The Pirates allowed first inning runs in all three games against St. John's this series.
Verdonk's last six outs recorded have all been strikeouts.
Seton Hall struck out 13 batters today. It's the 16^th time this season that the Pirates have reached double-figures in strikeouts.
Seton Hall's five errors match its season-high.

Next Up:
Seton Hall will return to action on Thursday, May 17 when it travels to Georgetown to open a three-game series, the final series of the BIG EAST regular season. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.