Pirates Drop Series Opener at Davidson, 6-5

Friday, March 26

Davidson, NC

6 p.m.

Seton Hall University

5-9

Davidson

10-9

Seton Hall

Davidson

3/27/2021 8:02:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Dana goes 4-for-4 with two runs scored, O'Neill throws three scoreless innings of relief

By Mark Mincolelli

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Despite an effective pitching performance from junior Brennan O'Neill (Morristown, N.J.) and a flawless offensive showing at the plate for senior third baseman Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.), the Seton Hall baseball team was unable to get by Davidson as the Wildcats walked the contest off on a bases-loaded base-on-balls in the bottom of the ninth inning, 6-5.

O'Neill, making his sixth appearance of 2021, struck out four batters and held the opposition to not just one run in three innings in relief. Offensively, Dana went 4-for-4 with two doubles, driving up his batting average to a team-leading .435. Sophomore left fielder Devin Hack (Somerville, N.J.) registered two singles and an RBI in his fifth start of the season.

Here's What Happened:

In the bottom of the first inning, Davidson opened up the game's scoring with a two-run home run to deep right-center field, but the Pirates answered in an explosive manner, erupting for four runs in the following frame. Senior Collin Sheehan (Doylestown, Pa.) began the early-inning rally with a double to the left field wall scoring Dana. His extra base hit was followed up by senior catcher Jerry Huntzinger's (Staten Island, N.Y.) two-run single scoring sophomore infielder Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Sheehan, the catcher's seventh and eighth RBI of the 2021 campaign. Hack then lined a 2-1 offering back to the Wildcat pitcher that scored sophomore speedster Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.) from third base, propelling the Pirates to a 4-2 lead.

The ensuing inning amounted to two runs, one per ball club. Freshman second baseman Zack Sylvester (Montville, N.J.) sliced a single to shallow center field cashing in Dana for the Pirates fifth run of the game and Sylvester's fifth career RBI. A booming solo home run for Davidson in the bottom of the third cut back their deficit to two.

With a win seemingly in-hand for the Pirates, they headed to the bottom of the ninth in need of just three outs. An RBI single tightened the Seton Hall lead to one run and back-to-back walks forced in the game-tying and winning runs as the Davidson Wildcats trotted away with a win at Wilson Field.

Up Next:

Seton Hall heads back to Wilson Field to take on Davidson in the second of a three-game non-conference stand tomorrow at 5 p.m.