Festa's Gem Leads Pirates to Georgetown Sweep

Saturday, May 11

Queens, N.Y. / Jack Kaiser Stadium

4:00 PM

Seton Hall University

25-23, 0

Georgetown

19-33, 0

Georgetown

Seton Hall

5/11/2019 8:21:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

QUEENS, N.Y. – Freshman David Festa (Verona, N.J.) allowed only one run over seven innings, and junior Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) had three hits as the Seton Hall baseball team completed a three-game sweep of Georgetown with a 6-2 victory in game two of Saturday's doubleheader.

The victory clinches a berth in the 2019 BIG EAST Championship for Seton Hall. The Pirates have now qualified for the marquee year-end tournament nine straight years.

Festa was brilliant, allowing just one run on five hits over seven inning pitched. He struck out seven batters and walked only two to pick up the victory.

Toke led the Pirate offense, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Both Christian Del Castillo (Miami, Fla.) and Tyler Shedler-McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) drove in a pair of runs. Freshman Steve Grober (Hillsborough, N.J.) was the lone other Pirate with multiple hits. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

What Happened:
Similar to the start of game one, Shedler-McAvoy was the catalyst for a Seton Hall first inning run. He walked, stole second base, and advanced to third on a throwing error by the Georgetown catcher. He came in to score on a sacrifice fly by Del Castillo.

After the bottom of the first, both pitchers settled in and a pitcher's duel ensued. Festa retired the first 10 batters he faced, while Georgetown's Jack Cushing retired 12 straight Pirates during one stretch and limited The Hall to just one hit over five innings.

Georgetown finally broke through on Festa in the top of the sixth inning with a single run to tie the game at one. The Hoyas loaded the bases, but the Pirate right-hander was able to strand three.

The Hall took the lead right back in the bottom of the inning. Senior Chris Villa (Staten Island, N.Y.) doubled to right-center field to lead off and advanced to third on a perfect sacrifice bunt by Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.). Shedler-McAvoy then hit a roller to third, but it was bobbled, and the error allowed the go-ahead run to score and Shedler-McAvoy to reach first. Del Castillo followed with an RBI single to left field to put The Hall in front, 3-1.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Huntzinger slammed a double into the left field corner to drive in Grober. Shedler-McAvoy then delivered a double of his own to the left-center field gap to extend The Hall's lead to 5-1.

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall out-hit Georgetown, 10-to-8. Georgetown committed two error, and Seton Hall had none.
Festa earned the victory, allowing just one run on five hits over seven innings. He struck out seven batters and walked only two.
Toke had a team-high three hits, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
Shedler-McAvoy went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, two runs scored, two RBIs and two stolen bases.
Grober went 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Del Castillo drove in two runs and had a single and a sacrifice fly.
Sophomore Sean Miller (Newton, N.J.) tossed a scoreless ninth inning.
Seton Hall left six men on base, while the Hoyas left eight.
Georgetown starter Jack Cushing took the loss. He allowed five runs over 6.2 innings.

News & Notes:

The Pirates improve to 25-23 overall and 9-6 in the BIG EAST, while Georgetown falls to 19-33 overall and 5-10 in conference play.
Seton Hall improves to 89-27 all-time against the Hoyas and has now won nine straight in the series.
The Hall's victories over Georgetown is its first sweep of a three-game series since sweeping Villanova last season, April 26-28, at Owen T. Carroll Field.
The win also ensures a .500 final record in BIG EAST Conference play for the ninth season in a row.
Seton Hall improves to 21-0 when leading after seven innings.
Today was Shedler-McAvoy's team-leading 11^th multi-RBI game of the season. Additionally, he has now hit safely in 16 of the last 17 games.
Today is the 23^rd time this season that the Pirates haven't committed an error in a game.
Seton Hall improves to 23-7 when scoring at least five runs in a game.
Today was the 20^th time this season that the Pirates have recorded at least 10 hits.

Next Up:
Seton Hall will return to action on Thursday, May 16 when it opens its final three-game series of the regular season. The Hall will again be at Jack Kaiser Stadium in Queens, N.Y., but this time, will be the road team as it faces St. John's. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on FS1.