Pirates Drop Pitchers' Duel to Dayton, 2-1

Saturday, February 23

Teaneck, N.J. / Naimoli Family Baseball Complex

10:00 AM

Seton Hall University

0-5

Dayton

1-3

Dayton

Seton Hall

2/23/2019 3:28:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

TEANECK, N.J. – Five pitchers limited Dayton to just one earned run, but the Seton Hall baseball team fell to the Flyers, 2-1, at Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday.

The Pirates ran into a hot Dayton starter, left-hander Hunter Wolfe, who tossed a complete-game, four-hitter.

Seton Hall's Cole Patten (Manasquan, N.J.), David Festa (Verona, N.J.), Tyler Burnham (East Brunswick, N.J.), Mark Diaz (Hollywood, Fla.) and Corey Sawyer (Kearny, N.J.) limited the Flyers to just three hits for game, but did issue a total of seven walks.

Only one Pirate had multiple hits today, sophomore Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.). He went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base, while playing left field for the first time in his collegiate career.

What Happened:
Patten, making his first career start, ran into trouble in the top of the second inning. With one out, his error enabled Dayton's Marcos Pujols to reach base, and eventually score two singles later. Patten limited the damage by getting the final two outs via strikeout.

The Hall tied the score in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI single by freshman Alex Clyde (Old Tappan, N.J.). With one out, Huntzinger singled up the middle, and then stole second base. Clyde then knocked him n with a single through the left side.

In the eighth inning, Diaz walked Dayton's Riley Tirotta, who stole second base. Sawyer replaced Diaz, but surrendered a two-out single that plated the go-ahead run.

Inside the Numbers:

Patten allowed one unearned run over two innings in a no decision. He struck out four batters and walked only one.
Festa tossed three scoreless relief innings without surrendering a hit. He struck out four and walked two.
Burnham had a nice bounce-back outing after a tough first start. He tossed two hitless innings, striking out four and walking two.
Diaz took the loss. He allowed a run on 0.1 innings.
Huntzinger led the Pirates' offense with a pair of hits. He went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored.
Clyde knocked in the Pirates' lone run. He went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Seton Hall out-hit the Flyers, 4-to-3. The Hall committed two errors, while Dayton had none.
Dayton left 10 men on base, while the Pirates left only one.
Dayton's Hunter Wolfe tossed a complete-game to earn the victory. He allowed just one run over nine innings with 11 strikeouts and one walk.

News & Notes:

The Pirates drop to 0-5 on the young season, while Dayton improves to 1-3.
Seton Hall falls to 2-1 all-time against Dayton.
The Pirates committed their first errors of the season today. They didn't have any through the season's first four contests.
Freshman Steve Grober (Hillsborough, N.J.) collected his first collegiate hit with a single in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Clyde has hit safely in all four of his games played so far this season. His five hits lead Seton Hall.
Huntzinger played right field in a game for the first time in his collegiate career. Junior Connor Hood (Shrewsbury, Pa.) played left field for the first time.
For the first time this season, the Pirates started an all-freshman middle infield with Clyde getting the start at second base and Grober starting at shortstop.
Festa's strong start to his collegiate career continued on Saturday. The right-hander has now allowed only two hits over four innings with no runs this season. Opponents are batting only .154 against him.

Next Up:
Seton Hall will return to action on Friday, March 1 when it travels to Charlottesville to begin a three-game series against Virginia. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.