Pitching Shines as Pirates Edge Creighton, 2-1

Saturday, May 5

Omaha, Neb.

7:30 PM

Seton Hall University

22-16-1, 9-2

Creighton

26-14, 5-8

Seton Hall

Creighton

5/5/2018 11:07:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

OMAHA, NEB. – Sophomore Ricky DeVito (Staten Island, N.Y.) allowed only one run over 6.2 innings, and relievers Corey Sawyer (Kearny, N.J.) and Matt Leon (Bethlehem, Pa.) held Creighton hitless as the Seton Hall baseball team edged the Bluejays, 2-1, on Saturday.

Creighton struck first with a run off of DeVito in the bottom of the second inning, but the Pirates evened the score in the top of the fourth. Senior Mike Alescio (Fair Haven, N.J.) led off with a double to left field and took third on a Creighton throwing error. Senior Ryan Ramiz (Freehold, N.J.) followed with a sacrifice fly to score Alescio with the tying run.

Turning Point:
In the top of the sixth inning, the Pirates were able to take advantage of the control issues that befell Creighton starter Mitch Ragan. Ragan walked the bases full with just one out before handing the ball to reliever Grant Spranger. Spranger struck out Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) on a 3-2 pitch, but walked Christian Del Castillo (Miami, Fla.) to put the Pirates in front, 2-1.

DeVito loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs, but Corey Sawyer (Kearny, N.J.) entered and struck out Isaac Collins on three pitches to preserve the lead.

Here is Corey Sawyer's strikeout to end the seventh inning and strand three Creighton runners.#HALLin pic.twitter.com/bnYRNYrD0h
— Seton Hall Baseball (@SHUBaseball) May 6, 2018

Sawyer remained in the game to pitch a perfect eighth inning, and Leon worked round a one-out walk to toss a scoreless ninth inning to claim his eighth save of the season.

Inside the Numbers:

DeVito allowed only one run over 6.2 innings with six strikeouts and two walks to improve to 4-1 on the season.
Sawyer retired all four batters he faced, including the final out of the seventh inning, which stranded the bases full of Bluejays.
Leon pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his eighth save of the season. He also struck out two batters.
Alescio reached base three times, going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored.
Sophomore Tyler Shedler-McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) reached base three times, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
Seton Hall had seven hits, while Creighton had five. Both teams committed one error.
Seton Hall left seven men on base, while the Bluejays left eight.
Creighton's Mitch Ragan took the loss. He allowed two runs over 5.1 innings.

News & Notes:

The victory improves Seton Hall to 22-16-1 overall and 9-2 in BIG EAST play, while Creighton falls to 26-14 overall and 5-8 in conference.
Seton Hall is now 5-14 all-time against the Bluejays.
Including tonight's game, 13 of the 19 all-time meetings between Seton Hall and Creighton have been decided by two runs or less, including both games so far this series.
DeVito upped his scoreless inning streak to 15 innings before finally allowing a run in the bottom of the second tonight. After allowing just that one run tonight, his earned run average is down to an impressive 1.61.
Leon's save is the 12^th s we of his career. He passes Pat Pacillo for fourth-most in Seton Hall history. Furthermore, he is only one away from tying the single-season record for saves.
Today's appearance is the 82^nd of Leon's career, which is fourth-most in Seton Hall history.
Seton Hall struck out 10 batters today. It's the 14^th time this season that the Pirates have reached double-figures in strikeouts.
After tonight's game, Seton Hall's team ERA is down to a season-best 4.33.

Next Up:
Seton Hall will return to action tomorrow when it concludes its three-game series in Omaha against Creighton. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.