Pirates Drop Season Opener At North Carolina

Friday, February 18

Chapel Hill, N.C.

4 p.m.

Seton Hall University

0-1

North Carolina

1-0

Seton Hall

North Carolina

2/18/2022 9:14:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Gale goes 3-for-5 on opening day

By Mark Mincolelli

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Despite stellar offensive showings for redshirt sophomore Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and senior Steve Grober (Hillsborough N.J.), the Seton Hall baseball team was unable to stick with the North Carolina Tar Heels in their season-opener Friday, falling 14-3.

Gale, who was named to the All-BIG EAST second team in 2021, singled three times in his five plate-appearances while menacing the basepaths; the left-field speedster stole two bases and scored a run. Grober managed two hits of his own including the Pirates first home run of the season, a booming solo shot to deep left-center field. The senior shortstop also drew a walk, his 32nd at Seton Hall.

On the pitching side, senior Nick Payero (Monroe N.J.) went four innings worth three strikeouts, allowing six North Carolina runs in his first appearance of 2022. Christopher Shine (South Plainfield N.J.) and Michael Ciminiello (Saint James, N.Y.) worked four combined innings in relief after Payero exited. Ciminiello's two frames were the first of his Pirate career. The sophomore fanned four Tar Heels.

Here is what happened:

Seton Hall jumped out to an early lead after scoring a pair of runs in the games opening inning. After back-to-back leadoff singles by Gale and Devin Hack (Somerville, N.J.), junior transfer student Mark McNelly (Limerick, PA) sent a line drive into center field, cashing in his first run-batted-in as a Pirate. The ensuing batter, freshman Michael Callan Moss (Brooklyn, N.Y.) grounded into a double-play that plated Hack who did not hesitate to compound his teams lead to 2-0.

The Tar Heels responded to the Pirates early offense with slugging, depositing four home runs totaling nine unanswered runs. In the top of the seventh, however, Grober pounded his sixth career longball into the left-field woods, recording his team's third score.

North Carolina would tally another five runs in their final two frames of work, putting the game out of reach for the Pirates.

Up Next:

Seton Hall heads back to Boshamer Stadium tomorrow to play the second contest in their opening three-game series of 2022. The Pirates take on the Tar Heels at 2:00pm Eastern Time.