Seton Hall University
11-28, 3-6
Creighton
23-11, 8-1
Seton Hall Tops Creighton In Back-and-Forth Affair, 10-9
4/24/2022 7:01:00 PM | Baseball
Omaha, Neb. — A topsy turvy contest ended in a resounding victory for the Seton Hall baseball team as the Pirates battled their way to a wild 10-9 victory over Creighton on Sunday afternoon.
In a game that featured seven lead changes, the Pirates were led at the plate by senior David Haberman (Morristown, N.J.) who went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs including a game-tying home run in the top of the seventh inning, a game-tying double in the eighth and the go-ahead RBI on a bases loaded walk in the top of the ninth.
Sophomore Drew Conover (Pittstown, N.J.) struck out three, all in the bottom of the ninth, in two innings of work and earned the victory on the mount for The Hall.
How It Happened
The Pirates jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI single in the top of the first by senior Steve Grober (Hillsborough, N.J.) and an RBI base hit off the bat of junior Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) in the top of the second. The Hall found some trouble in the bottom of the second as Creighton posted a crooked number and took a 5-2 lead.
As they did all day though, the Pirates bounced back. In the top of the third, freshman Pat D'Amico (Lynnfield, Mass.) led off the frame on one of his three hits on the day and later scored on a passed bat that cut the deficit to two, 5-3. Later in the inning, Seton Hall kept the line moving as freshman Jedier Hernandez (Trenton, N.J.) and junior Mark McNelly (Limerick, Pa.) registered one-run singles that knotted the game up at 5-5.
On the first pitch of the bottom of the third inning, the Creighton batter popped the ball up in foul territory on the third base side. For the second time in a week, Grober made a fantastic, acrobatic catch as he caught the pop up and nearly fell into stands. That set the tone for starter Brennan O'Neill (Morristown, N.J.) to retire the side in order in the inning.
Freshman Daniel Frontera (Red Bank, N.J.) came on in relief in the bottom of the fourth where he recorded the final out of the frame with two runners on base. He also picked a runner off at first base in the fifth inning. After Creighton pulled ahead to take a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth, Hernandez surrendered his body and was awarded with the catch of a pop up in foul ground that got The Hall out of the inning.
That play sparked the Pirates offense in the top of the seventh as Haberman lifted his second home run of the season over the left field wall that tied the game up once again at 6-6. McNelly followed the homer up with a walk and freshman Jack Wentworth (Wakefield, R.I.) drove him on a triple to the right field corner, giving the Pirates a 7-6 lead.
Creighton would re-take the lead once again after scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh but Seton Hall refused to go away. Haberman delivered again, this time with a game-tying RBI double, and senior reliever Alex Nicolosi (Stony Point, N.Y.), who came off the bench as a pinch runner, crossed the plate on a wild pitch that made it 9-8 in favor of Seton Hall.
After an RBI double in the Creighton half of the eighth made it 9-9, Luders led off the top of the ninth with a double, his second hit of the game. With two outs, an error on the Creighton third baseman kept the inning alive and a walk drawn by graduate student Collin Sheehan (Doylestown, Pa.) loaded the bases. That brought Haberman to the plate and he would draw a walk on a 3-1 count that brought home the go-ahead and made it 10-9 Pirates.
Conover fanned the first two batters of the ninth inning and despite hitting the third batter settled in and struck out the final Creighton batter looking on three pitches to seal the win.
Inside The Box Score
- The Pirates outhit the Bluejays, 16-9.
- 16 hits for Seton Hall was its most in a single game this season.
- Three different Pirates registered three-hit games (Grober, D'Amico, Haberman)
- Both teams went 5-for-9 leading off an inning.
- Haberman's home run was the second of the season and third of his career.
- Wentworth's go-ahead RBI triple was his first career run batted in and three bagger.
- Conover has allowed only three hits and no runs in his last five appearances dating back to April 10.
- Seton Hall used four pitchers and Creighton used nine.
- Both teams were charged with two errors.
Up Next
The Pirates return home to Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium at Owen T. Carroll Field for two midweek games starting on Tuesday at 4 p.m. against Rider.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Conover, Drew (2-2)
L: Hammond, D. (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Luders, Jonathan 1 ; Haberman, David 1
3B: Wentworth, Jack 1
HR: Haberman, David 1
RBI: Luders, Jonathan 1 ; Grober, Steve 1 ; Hernandez, Jedier 1 ; Haberman, David 3 ; McNelly, Mark 1 ; Wentworth, Jack 1
SH: Luders, Jonathan 1 ; Sylvester, Zack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hack, Devin 1 ; Luders, Jonathan 1 ; D'Amico, Pat 1 ; Grober, Steve 2 ; Hernandez, Jedier 2 ; Nicolosi, Alex 1 ; Haberman, David 1 ; McNelly, Mark 1
SB: McNelly, Mark 2
HBP: Hernandez, Jedier 1
Batting:
2B: Roden, A. 1
RBI: Meggs, A. 2 ; Hess,K 2 ; Roden, A. 1 ; Sailors, N. 1 ; Clifford, N. 1 ; Peluso, J 1 ; Helligso, H. 1
SH: Peluso, J 1
SF: Peluso, J 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Meggs, A. 2 ; Wegner, J. 2 ; Grace, J. 2 ; Sailors, N. 1 ; Clifford, N. 1 ; Helligso, H. 1
CS: Roden, A. 1
HBP: Wegner, J. 1 ; Clifford, N. 1 ; Peluso, J 2
PO: Roden, A. 1
