Saturday, May 15
South Orange, N.J.
12 p.m.
Seton Hall University
22-18, 15-6
15
vs
0
Creighton
20-10, 12-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Creighton
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
Seton Hall
0
0
0
8
4
3
X
15
13
0
Pirates Roll Past Creighton In Doubleheader Sweep
5/15/2021 7:46:00 PM | Baseball
Seton Hall has clinched a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament for the 10th consecutive season.
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – After dropping the series opener on Friday, the Seton Hall baseball team responded in emphatic fashion by defeating Creighton 15-0 in game one and 5-3 in game two to sweep the Saturday doubleheader at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium at Owen T. Carroll Field.
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The Pirates (23-18, 16-6 BIG EAST) will be one of four teams heading to the BIG EAST Tournament in Mason, Ohio for the 10th consecutive season as they clinched a spot with their win in the first game and following other results from around the conference.
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Junior David Festa (Verona, N.J.) dazzled in the first game as he improved to 6-2 on the season with a seven-inning, eight-strikeout, one-hit shutout. Classmate Nick Payero (Monroe, N.J.) earned his fourth win of the season in game two after tossing 3.1 innings of shutout, one-hit relief with six strikeouts. Senior Season Miller (Newton, N.J.) picked up his team-best fourth save of the season in the nightcap.
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Graduate student Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) continued his hot hitting by going 3-for-7 with two doubles and three RBI over the two games. Redshirt freshman Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.) crossed the plate four times on Saturday and senior Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) delivered the go-ahead RBI in the bottom of the sixth in game two.
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Game One
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Festa retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced and the Bluejay that reached on a walk was erased as Festa picked him off at first base in the top of the second.
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The Pirates gave Festa some run support to work with the bottom half of the fourth. With senior Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) and Toke on the corners after both reached on base hits, senior Tyler Shedler-McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) put the ball in play with a bunt and that allowed him to reach and Dana to score, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead. A one-run double down the left field line off the bat of junior Steve Grober (Hillsborough, N.J.) and a two-run single down the same line by sophomore Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) extended the Seton Hall advantage to 4-0.
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The scoring wouldn't stop there in the fourth as an RBI single by Hack with the bases loaded pushed the lead to 5-0 and a single by Dana followed by a throwing error by the third baseman allowed all three runs to score, making it 8-0.
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Festa worked a clean top of the fifth before the Pirates tacked on four more runs on back-to-back sacrifice flies by Huntzinger and Dana and a bases clearing, two-run double by Toke that broke the game open and made it 12-0 Seton Hall. The final score of 15-0 came thanks to three more runs in the sixth on RBI base knocks by Huntzinger and Dana and a bases loaded walk drawn by Toke.
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Game Two
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The second game of the twin bill was more of a back-and-forth affair. The Bluejays struck first in the top of the second on an RBI groundout but the Pirates responded quickly in the home half. Graduate student Connor Hood (Shrewsbury, Pa.) led off the inning with an infield hit and later found himself on third with two outs. Gale put the ball in play and reached on an error committed by the third baseman that allowed Hood to score.
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Creighton answered by taking a 3-1 lead in the top of third but The Hall knotted up the score again with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third. Following consecutive walks to lead off the inning, Hood moved Dana and Toke over to second and third on a sac bunt. That set the stage for Shedler-McAvoy who punched a single through the right side and tied up the game at 3-3.
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Starter Joe Cinnella (Mahway, N.J.) settled in by striking out the first two batters of the fourth before retiring side in order. Payero came on for him in relief in the fifth with one out and runners at first and second. Payero caught a runner trying to steal third for the first out and got the next batter swinging for the third.
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With the score stilled tied at 3-3 entering the bottom of the sixth, Grober started a two-out rally with a single to center field and Gale followed with a base hit of his own. Sophomore Devin Hack (Somerville, N.J.) entered as a pinch runner at second base and his speed was put to use as Huntzinger delivered the go-ahead base hit on a single up the middle. Luders kept the line moving a single to center that plated Gale from second and gave the Pirates a key insurance run.
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Payero continued to dominate with two strikeouts in the top of the seventh and two more in the top of the eighth that gave him six on the day. Freshman Zane Probst (Mill Hall, Pa.) came on in relief with two outs and a runner on second and got the hitter to ground out to junior Alex Clyde (Old Tappan, N.J.) at shortstop to end the inning.
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The Pirates went down in order in the eighth but Miller came on for the save in the ninth and he got the first batter swinging and the third batter of the inning to ground into a 1-4-3 double play that gave the Pirates the 5-3 win.
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Up Next
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Seton Hall and Creighton now play an 11:30 a.m. series finale tomorrow. The Senior Day ceremony that will honor 13 players and two managers will take place after the game. The game and ceremony will be streamed on the Pirate Sports Network.
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The Pirates (23-18, 16-6 BIG EAST) will be one of four teams heading to the BIG EAST Tournament in Mason, Ohio for the 10th consecutive season as they clinched a spot with their win in the first game and following other results from around the conference.
Â
Junior David Festa (Verona, N.J.) dazzled in the first game as he improved to 6-2 on the season with a seven-inning, eight-strikeout, one-hit shutout. Classmate Nick Payero (Monroe, N.J.) earned his fourth win of the season in game two after tossing 3.1 innings of shutout, one-hit relief with six strikeouts. Senior Season Miller (Newton, N.J.) picked up his team-best fourth save of the season in the nightcap.
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Graduate student Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) continued his hot hitting by going 3-for-7 with two doubles and three RBI over the two games. Redshirt freshman Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.) crossed the plate four times on Saturday and senior Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) delivered the go-ahead RBI in the bottom of the sixth in game two.
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Game One
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Festa retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced and the Bluejay that reached on a walk was erased as Festa picked him off at first base in the top of the second.
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The Pirates gave Festa some run support to work with the bottom half of the fourth. With senior Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) and Toke on the corners after both reached on base hits, senior Tyler Shedler-McAvoy (Allendale, N.J.) put the ball in play with a bunt and that allowed him to reach and Dana to score, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead. A one-run double down the left field line off the bat of junior Steve Grober (Hillsborough, N.J.) and a two-run single down the same line by sophomore Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) extended the Seton Hall advantage to 4-0.
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The scoring wouldn't stop there in the fourth as an RBI single by Hack with the bases loaded pushed the lead to 5-0 and a single by Dana followed by a throwing error by the third baseman allowed all three runs to score, making it 8-0.
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Festa worked a clean top of the fifth before the Pirates tacked on four more runs on back-to-back sacrifice flies by Huntzinger and Dana and a bases clearing, two-run double by Toke that broke the game open and made it 12-0 Seton Hall. The final score of 15-0 came thanks to three more runs in the sixth on RBI base knocks by Huntzinger and Dana and a bases loaded walk drawn by Toke.
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Game Two
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The second game of the twin bill was more of a back-and-forth affair. The Bluejays struck first in the top of the second on an RBI groundout but the Pirates responded quickly in the home half. Graduate student Connor Hood (Shrewsbury, Pa.) led off the inning with an infield hit and later found himself on third with two outs. Gale put the ball in play and reached on an error committed by the third baseman that allowed Hood to score.
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Creighton answered by taking a 3-1 lead in the top of third but The Hall knotted up the score again with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third. Following consecutive walks to lead off the inning, Hood moved Dana and Toke over to second and third on a sac bunt. That set the stage for Shedler-McAvoy who punched a single through the right side and tied up the game at 3-3.
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Starter Joe Cinnella (Mahway, N.J.) settled in by striking out the first two batters of the fourth before retiring side in order. Payero came on for him in relief in the fifth with one out and runners at first and second. Payero caught a runner trying to steal third for the first out and got the next batter swinging for the third.
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With the score stilled tied at 3-3 entering the bottom of the sixth, Grober started a two-out rally with a single to center field and Gale followed with a base hit of his own. Sophomore Devin Hack (Somerville, N.J.) entered as a pinch runner at second base and his speed was put to use as Huntzinger delivered the go-ahead base hit on a single up the middle. Luders kept the line moving a single to center that plated Gale from second and gave the Pirates a key insurance run.
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Payero continued to dominate with two strikeouts in the top of the seventh and two more in the top of the eighth that gave him six on the day. Freshman Zane Probst (Mill Hall, Pa.) came on in relief with two outs and a runner on second and got the hitter to ground out to junior Alex Clyde (Old Tappan, N.J.) at shortstop to end the inning.
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The Pirates went down in order in the eighth but Miller came on for the save in the ninth and he got the first batter swinging and the third batter of the inning to ground into a 1-4-3 double play that gave the Pirates the 5-3 win.
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Up Next
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Seton Hall and Creighton now play an 11:30 a.m. series finale tomorrow. The Senior Day ceremony that will honor 13 players and two managers will take place after the game. The game and ceremony will be streamed on the Pirate Sports Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Festa, David (6-2)
L: Jonah Smith (6-3)
Base Running:
HBP: Garrett Gilbert 1
PO: Ryan Mantle 1
Batting:
2B: Toke, Matt 1 ; Grober, Steve 1
RBI: Huntzinger, Jerry 2 ; Hack, Devin 1 ; Dana, Casey 3 ; Toke, Matt 3 ; Shedler-McAvoy, Tyler 1 ; Grober, Steve 1 ; Luders, Jonathan 2
SH: Grober, Steve 1
SF: Huntzinger, Jerry 1 ; Dana, Casey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Huntzinger, Jerry 2 ; Hack, Devin 2 ; Dana, Casey 1 ; Toke, Matt 1 ; Shedler-McAvoy, Tyler 1 ; Grober, Steve 2 ; Luders, Jonathan 3 ; Gale, Will 3
SB: Hack, Devin 1
HBP: Luders, Jonathan 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
lf/cf
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
LHP
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INF
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INF
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RHP
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INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
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