Pirates Drop Series Opener at Iona

Friday, March 29

New Rochelle, N.Y. / City Park

3:00 PM

Seton Hall University

8-13

Iona

6-18

Seton Hall

Iona

3/29/2019 6:00:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – Freshman Steve Grober (Hillsborough, N.J.) had a pair of hits and flashed some superb defense, but the Seton Hall baseball team fell in the series opener at Iona, 5-0, on Friday.

The loss snaps Seton Hall's five-game win streak.

Grober went 2-for-3 with a double, and made several dazzling defensive plays at shortstop to prevent additional Iona offense. Grober started a pair of double plays in the field for The Hall, including a dazzling diving stop and glove hand toss to second base to start the first one. The freshman has committed just one error with 36 assists so far this season in the field.

What Happened:
Iona struck first in the bottom of the third inning off Seton Hall starter Ricky DeVito (Staten Island, N.Y.). With two outs and runners on the corners, DeVito threw wide of first base on a pickoff attempt, which allowed Iona's Joe DeMaio to score from third base with the game's first run.

The Gaels padded their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Pirates' defense again contributed to their demise. With a runner on first, the Gaels twice attempted a sacrifice bunt. First Iona's Hunter Sibley reached on an errant throw to first base, then Niko Switalla's bunt was perfectly placed and he reached via single to load the bases with no outs. A single and two bases loaded walks later, the Pirates were down, 4-0. The inning came to a close on a fantastic defensive play by Grober. The Pirate shortstop dove towards second base to snag a ground ball, shuffled the ball to Hood with his glove, and Hood relayed to first base for a double play.

Iona got one final run off Pirate reliever Blake Espinal (Bronx, N.Y.) in the bottom of the seventh.

Inside the Numbers:

Iona out-hit Seton Hall, 8-to-7. Seton Hall committed two errors, while the Gaels committed none.
Grober was the lone Pirate with multiple hits. He went 2-for-3 with a double.
Espinal pitched well in relief. He allowed one run without a hit over three innings of work.
DeVito took the loss for Seton Hall. He allowed two earned runs over five innings, while striking out six and walking two.
Seton Hall left five men on base, while Iona left six.
Iona's Stephen Hansen earned the win. He went the distance in a complete-game shutout.

News & Notes:

The Pirates fall to 8-13 on the season, while Iona improves to 6-18. The Hall's five-game win streak was snapped.
Seton Hall drops to 31-5 all-time against the Gaels and had its 10-game win streak in the series snapped.
Grober has now hit safely in six straight games to lead the team.
Today was the fourth time this season that the Pirates have been shut out, but the first time since March 8.

Next Up:
Seton Hall will return to action tomorrow when it continues its three-game series in New Rochelle, N.Y. against local rival Iona. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.