Pirates Drop Regular Season Finale, 6-2

Saturday, May 18

Queens, N.Y. / Jack Kaiser Stadium

1:00 PM

Seton Hall University

25-26, 9-9

St. John's

30-21, 9-9

Seton Hall

St. John's

5/18/2019 4:50:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

QUEENS, N.Y. – Junior Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) had a pair of hits, but the Seton Hall baseball team fell in the 2019 regular season finale at St. John's, 6-2, on Saturday.

The loss gives the Pirates the No. 4 seed in next week's BIG EAST Championship. The Hall will face top-seeded Creighton at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio.

Huntzinger went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored to lead the Pirates' offense. Both Christian Del Castillo (Miami, Fla.) and Tyler Shedler-McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) drove in runs.

Of Seton Hall's four pitchers on Saturday, two reliever left the game without a blemish. Junior Blake Espinal (Bronx, N.Y.) tossed two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Sophomore Ryan McLinskey (Pearl River, N.Y.) pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

What Happened:
Seton Hall's offense got started right away in the top of the first inning. Huntzinger led off the game with a double. With one out Del Castillo found the same left-center field gap with a double of his own to put The Hall up, 1-0.

The lead was short-lived however, as Seton Hall starter David Festa (Verona, N.J.) loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first. A double, followed by a single, plated three Red Storm runs to put them on top, 3-1. St. John's added a fourth run in the second, which chased Festa, to put them on top, 4-1.

Chris Villa (Staten Island, N.Y.) drew a one-out walk, and eventually scored on an RBI single by Shedler-McAvoy to cut the Pirates' deficit to 4-2 in the top of the fifth.

St. John's finally broke through on Pirate reliever Tyler Burnham (East Brunswick, N.J.) in the fifth. The sophomore had retired seven straight before surrendering a pair of runs, which extended the Red Storm lead to 6-2.

Inside the Numbers:

St. John's out-hit Seton Hall, 9-to-5. Neither team committed an error.
Burnham pitched well in relief, allowing two runs on only two hits over 3.1 innings, and at one point, retired seven straight batters.
Huntzinger went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
Shedler-McAvoy reached base twice, going 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a stolen base.
Espinal tossed two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.
Villa walked twice.
McLinskey pitched a scoreless eighth inning with two strikeouts.
Both teams left eight men on base.
Festa took the loss for Seton Hall. He allowed four runs over just 1.2 innings pitched.

News & Notes:

The Pirates complete the 2019 regular season with a 25-26 overall record and 9-9 mark in the BIG EAST.
Seton Hall will be the No. 4 seed in next week's BIG EAST Championship. The Pirates will face No. 1 Creighton at 2:30 on Thursday, May 23.
Seton Hall drops to 60-74 all-time against the Red Storm.
Seton Hall started the same lineup for its ninth straight game today. The Pirates are 5-4 over their last eight games. They are also 5-4 this season at Jack Kaiser Stadium.
With a single today, Shedler-McAvoy has now hit safely in 20 of the last 21 games.
Today is the 24^th time this season that the Pirates haven't committed an error in a game.

Next Up:
Seton Hall will return to action on Thursday, May 23 when it begins play at the 2019 BIG EAST Championship at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio. The fourth-seeded Pirates will take on top-seeded Creighton at 2:30 pm. The game will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network.