Pirates Take Rubber Game and Win Series At George Washington, 8-4

Sunday, March 21

Washington, D.C

12 p.m.

Seton Hall University

5-8

George Washington

6-7

Seton Hall

George Washington

Pirates Take Rubber Game and Win Series At George Washington, 8-4

3/21/2021 4:54:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Toke went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI

By Mark Mincolelli

ARLINGTON, Va. - Graduate student Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) went 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI while junior pitcher Brennan O'Neill (Morristown, N.J.) turned in another quality performance on the mound for Seton Hall as they took the series finale Sunday from George Washington, 8-4.

O'Neill worked two shutout innings where he tallied two strikeouts, stymying the Colonials who only managed two hits against the right-hander. O'Neill was awarded with his first win of 2021. Along with Toke, senior catcher Collin Sheehan (Doylestown, Pa.) also scored twice and tallied an RBI and walk of his own.

Relief arm and graduate student Mark Anderson (Berwyn, Pa.) attained his first save in a Seton Hall uniform after slamming the door in the ninth inning. The left-handed transfer from Lafayette College has punched out six batters in his five 2021 appearances.

Here's What Happened:

A leadoff double off the barrel of junior Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) put the Pirates in scoring position early, and a Toke ground ball just nine pitches later propelled Seton Hall to an early one-run lead. Huntzinger also stole his team-best 11th base of the young season in the first inning. He's now stolen 11 bags on 13 attempts this season.

The Colonials would respond however, putting together three runs, two of which were unearned, over the next two innings but the Pirates had more in their tank.

Seton Hall would counter with six unanswered runs over a span of three frames of work. Sheehan began the rally by plating senior Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) after belting a double over the Colonial center fielder, while the next pair of Pirate runs would come courtesy of two sophomores in the sixth inning, Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.). Luders was hit on the hand by a tailing fastball scoring Toke, and Gale drew a five-pitch walk advancing Tyler Shedler-McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) home. Sheehan would round the bases in the following frame ultimately taking home plate on a wild George Washington pitch, his sixth score of the year.

Following up a three-run sixth inning, freshman infielder Zack Sylvester (Montville, N.J.) singled into left field again scoring Toke, and shortly after, Shedler-McAvoy slid across the plate immediately following another wild pitch on behalf of Colonial pitching. George Washington would hold Seton Hall for an inning and score a run of their own, but Sylvester would score off of a Gale fielder's choice in the top of the ninth, setting the table for Anderson's dominant outing on the mound.

The Pirates won their first series of 2021, taking two contests from the Colonials.

Up Next:

Seton Hall heads to North Carolina to take on Davidson in a three-game series from March 26-28.