Creighton Gets By Seton Hall On Senior Day, 3-1

Sunday, May 16

South Orange, N.J.

11:30 A.M.

Seton Hall University

23-19, 16-7

Creighton

21-11, 13-4

Creighton

Seton Hall

5/16/2021 4:37:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Pirates split the four-game series with the Bluejays

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall baseball team scored first on an RBI single by senior Casey Dana (Montgomery, N.Y.) in the bottom of the sixth inning but it wouldn't be enough as the Pirates fell in the series finale to Creighton, 3-1, on Sunday.

The Pirates (23-19, 16-7 BIG EAST) split the series with the Bluejays (21-11, 13-4 BIG EAST) as both teams entered the weekend as the top two teams in the BIG EAST. Seton Hall still has the most league wins of any team in the conference and they have no lost a BIG EAST series this season.

Senior Jerry Huntzinger (Staten Island, N.Y.) went 2-for-4 from the lead-off spot and senior Mike Esposito (Chester, N.J.) had a double and a run scored. Both were honored postgame along with 11 other senior Pirates for playing their final home games at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium at Owen T. Carroll Field.

Both teams were even through the first five innings of play before starter Tyler Burnham (East Brunswick, N.J.) faced a jam in the top of the sixth. The Bluejays had the bases loaded and no one out but the senior southpaw induced a sharp ground ball to sophomore Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) at third base who tossed it home to senior Collin Sheehan (Doylestown, Pa.) for the first out and then went to graduate student Matt Toke (Three Bridges, N.J.) at first to complete the 5-2-3 double play. Sophomore Aaron Groller (Harleysville, Pa.) then came on in relief of Burnham and recorded the final out of the inning.

The Pirates used that momentum to strike first in the home half of the sixth. Esposito led off with a double to left field and with one out moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt put down by Luders. Dana then stepped to the plate delivered a sharp line drive over the head of the shortstop that plated Esposito and gave the Pirates an early 1-0 lead.

Groller worked a clean seventh inning before the Bluejays struck with three runs in the eighth to take a 3-1 lead. Despite the Pirates putting runners on in the eighth and ninth innings, Creighton was able to secure the victory.

Up Next

The Pirates will next travel to Connecticut to take on the Huskies in a four-game series beginning on Thursday at 6 p.m. The following weekend, Seton Hall will head to the BIG EAST Tournament in Mason, Ohio as one of four teams – along with Creighton, Connecticut and Xavier – to compete for the conference championship.