Sunday, April 28
Queens, N.Y. / Jack Kaiser Stadium
12:00 PM
Seton Hall University
18-22, 0
9
vs
4
Butler
21-20, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Butler
0
2
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
4
7
1
Seton Hall
1
0
0
0
0
3
3
2
X
9
9
1
Villa, Pirates Rally Again to Down Butler, 9-4
4/28/2019 5:55:00 PM | Baseball
QUEENS, N.Y. – Senior Chris Villa (Staten Island, N.Y.) had three hits and two RBIs as the Seton Hall baseball team rallied from a 4-1 deficit to defeat Butler, 9-4, in the rubber game of its series with Butler on Sunday.
Villa had his best offensive game of the season, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Two other Pirates, Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) and Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) also drove in two runs apiece.
On the mound, The Hall got its best starting pitching of the weekend. Freshman David Festa (Verona, N.J.) allowed only two earned runs over five innings, while striking out eight and walking none in a no decision. Sophomore Hunter Waldis (Far Hills, N.J.) was brilliant in relief for a second time this weekend, allowing only a single hit over three scoreless innings.
What Happened:
Seton Hall scored the first run of the game without the benefit of a hit. In the bottom of the first inning, Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch, stole second base, and advanced to third on a throwing error by the Butler catcher. He then came in to score on a groundout by Toke.
In the top of the second inning, Butler took the lead with a two-out, two-RBI single off Festa. They added an insurance run in the top of the fifth inning when Butler's Kyle Smith scored from first base on a throwing error by shortstop Steve Grober (Hillsborough, N.J.) trying to force him out at second. In a dazzling defensive effort this season, it is only Grober's second error.
Butler loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the sixth inning against Pirate reliever Sean Miller (Newton, N.J.), but Blake Espinal (Bronx, N.Y.) was able to limit the damage to just one run by striking out the side.
Espinal's effort may have spurred on the Pirates' offense too, because The Hall erupted for three runs, all with two outs, in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at four. Seton Hall recorded four consecutive singles, the latter two by Sebastiano Santorelli (Tuckahoe, N.Y.) and Villa drove in runs. Villa's single through the left side allowed two Pirate runs to score and tie the game at four.
In the bottom of the seventh, Seton Hall put up its second straight three-spot thanks in part to some wildness by Butler pitching. Toke drove in the go-ahead run with a single through the right side to make the score 5-4, then a pair of wild pitches with the bases loaded provided two insurance runs. Butler pitchers walked two batters and threw three wild pitches in the frame.
Inside the Numbers:
Seton Hall will return to action on Tuesday, April 30 when it travels to Saint Peter's. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Villa had his best offensive game of the season, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Two other Pirates, Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) and Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) also drove in two runs apiece.
On the mound, The Hall got its best starting pitching of the weekend. Freshman David Festa (Verona, N.J.) allowed only two earned runs over five innings, while striking out eight and walking none in a no decision. Sophomore Hunter Waldis (Far Hills, N.J.) was brilliant in relief for a second time this weekend, allowing only a single hit over three scoreless innings.
What Happened:
Seton Hall scored the first run of the game without the benefit of a hit. In the bottom of the first inning, Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch, stole second base, and advanced to third on a throwing error by the Butler catcher. He then came in to score on a groundout by Toke.
In the top of the second inning, Butler took the lead with a two-out, two-RBI single off Festa. They added an insurance run in the top of the fifth inning when Butler's Kyle Smith scored from first base on a throwing error by shortstop Steve Grober (Hillsborough, N.J.) trying to force him out at second. In a dazzling defensive effort this season, it is only Grober's second error.
Butler loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the sixth inning against Pirate reliever Sean Miller (Newton, N.J.), but Blake Espinal (Bronx, N.Y.) was able to limit the damage to just one run by striking out the side.
Espinal's effort may have spurred on the Pirates' offense too, because The Hall erupted for three runs, all with two outs, in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at four. Seton Hall recorded four consecutive singles, the latter two by Sebastiano Santorelli (Tuckahoe, N.Y.) and Villa drove in runs. Villa's single through the left side allowed two Pirate runs to score and tie the game at four.
In the bottom of the seventh, Seton Hall put up its second straight three-spot thanks in part to some wildness by Butler pitching. Toke drove in the go-ahead run with a single through the right side to make the score 5-4, then a pair of wild pitches with the bases loaded provided two insurance runs. Butler pitchers walked two batters and threw three wild pitches in the frame.
Inside the Numbers:
- Seton Hall out-hit Butler, 9-to-7. Both teams committed one error.
- Villa went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
- Both Toke and Dana drove in two runs apiece.
- Huntzinger reached base three times, going 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs scored, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
- Christian Del Castillo (Miami, Fla.) drew three walks and stole a base.
- Tyler Shedler-McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) reached base three times, going 1-for-3 with two walks, a runs scored and a stolen base.
- Festa allowed only two earned runs over five innings with eight strikeouts and no walks in a no decision.
- Espinal inherited the bases loaded with no outs, and walked in a run, but struck out the side to limit the damage.
- Waldis earned the victory with three shutout innings of relief, allowing just one hit.
- Seton Hall left eight men on base, while Butler left nine.
- The Pirates improve to 18-22 overall and 4-5 in the BIG EAST Conference, while Butler falls to 21-20 overall and 3-8 in conference play.
- The Pirates fall to 17-23 overall and 3-6 in the BIG EAST Conference, while Butler improves to 22-19 overall and 4-7 in conference play.
- Seton Hall improves to 12-8 all-time against the Bulldogs.
- Seton Hall drops to 11-9 all-time against the Bulldogs.
- Today was the 22nd time this season that Seton Hall struck out at least 10 batters.
- With a hit today, Shedler-McAvoy has now hit safely in nine straight games, which is the longest streak of the season for any Pirate.
- Seton Hall improves to 16-0 when leading after seven innings.
- The victory gives Seton Hall the series over Butler, which is a crucial tie-breaker should the teams finished tied in the final BIG EAST standings.
- Seton Hall's five stolen bases today match a season-high.
Seton Hall will return to action on Tuesday, April 30 when it travels to Saint Peter's. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Waldis, Hunter (2-0)
L: SCHMIT, Ryan (0-2)
Batting:
2B: GARGANO, James 1
RBI: JAROSZ, Zach 1 ; CHRISTMAN, Connor 2
Base Running:
RUNS: SMITH, Kyle 1 ; GARGANO, James 1 ; PARKER, Zach 1 ; MCGRATH, Brody 1
SB: GARGANO, James 1 ; PARKER, Zach 1
HBP: FREED, Harrison 1 ; PARKER, Zach 2
Batting:
RBI: Dana, Casey 2 ; Toke, Matt 2 ; Santorelli, Sebastiano 1 ; Villa, Chris 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Huntzinger, Jerry 2 ; Del Castillo, Christian 1 ; Toke, Matt 1 ; Shedler-McAvoy, Tyler 1 ; Hood, Connor 1 ; Santorelli, Sebastiano 1 ; Villa, Chris 1 ; Grober, Steve 1
SB: Huntzinger, Jerry 2 ; Dana, Casey 1 ; Del Castillo, Christian 1 ; Shedler-McAvoy, Tyler 1
HBP: Huntzinger, Jerry 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
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LHP
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RHP
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INF
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RHP
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OF
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RHP
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