Gutsy Pitching Leads Pirates to 1-0 Win Over Villanova

Friday, April 16

Villanova, PA

3 p.m.

Seton Hall University

11-13, 4-1

Villanova

12-6, 0-4

Seton Hall

Villanova

Gutsy Pitching Leads Pirates to 1-0 Win Over Villanova

4/16/2021 6:52:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Four Seton Hall pitchers combined to shutout the Wildcats on Friday

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – A strong pitching effort and a manufactured run in the top of the sixth inning propelled the Seton Hall baseball team to its fourth BIG EAST victory of the season as the Pirates beat Villanova, 1-0, in game one of a three-game series on Friday.

Junior Nick Payero (Monroe, N.J.) earned the win on the mound for the Pirates after tossing three innings of scoreless relief with three strikeouts. He improved to 3-1 on the season.

Combined with starter Ryan McLinskey (Pearl River, N.Y.), freshman Zane Probst (Mill Hall, Pa.) and senior Hunter Waldis (Naples, Fla.), the Seton Hall pitching staff tossed a shutout, allowed five hits and forced the Wildcats to strand 13 base runners.

Seton Hall (11-13, 4-1 BIG EAST) has now won six of their last eight games dating back to its 4-3 win over Fordham on March 31.

How It Happened:

McLinskey – who struck out a season-high seven batters in four innings of work – worked out of bases loaded jams in the second and third innings that helped keep the Wildcats off the scoreboard. Payero replaced him in the bottom of the fifth and he retired the Wildcats in order.

In the top of the sixth, sophomore Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.) led off the inning with a bunt single that was perfectly placed down the third base line. A sacrifice bunt by senior Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) and an infield single by sophomore Devin Hack (Somerville, N.J.) – his second of a career-high three hits on the day – put Gale on third. That set the stage for senior Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) who lined the ball to right field but went far enough for the speedy Gale as he crossed the plate and gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

Payero continued to pitch well as he retired his sixth batter in a row in the sixth and stranded two more runners in the seventh. Probst and Waldis – who registered his third save of the season, a new career-high – closed the door on the Wildcats in the eighth and ninth innings and completed Seton Hall's third shutout of the season.

Up Next:

Originally scheduled to be a four-game series, the Pirates and the Wildcats will now play single games tomorrow and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 12 p.m., respectively.