Seton Hall University
15-30
Rutgers
36-10
Seton Hall Wallops No. 24 Rutgers, 11-2
5/3/2022 8:37:00 PM | Baseball
South Orange, N.J. — Timely hitting with the bases loaded and pitchers that kept one of the top offenses in the country off balanced propelled the Seton Hall baseball team to a convincing 11-2 victory over No. 24 Rutgers on Tuesday evening at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium at Owen T. Carroll Field.
Of The Hall's 11 runs on the day, 10 were driven in by senior Justin Scotto (Tinton Falls, N.J.), freshman Michael Callan Moss (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and graduate student Collin Sheehan (Doylestown, Pa.). Senior Devin Hack (Somerville, N.J.) went 3-for-3, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances and scored two runs.
Redshirt junior Joe Cinnella (Mahwah, N.J.) eared the win on the bump for the Pirates and he was one of six Seton Hall hurlers that combined to allow only two earned runs against a Rutgers squad that entered the game with the fifth-best team batting average in the country (.317).
How It Happened
The first three Pirate batters of the game reached base as redshirt sophomore Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.) was hit by a pitch, Hack singled and junior Jonathan Luders (Lynnfield, Mass.) walked. The Pirates opened the scoring with a bases loaded walk drawn by junior Mark McNelly (Limerick, Pa). With two outs, the bases were loaded for Moss who drove a 1-2 pitch to the opposite field that cleared the bases and gave Seton Hall an early 4-0 lead.
Cinnella blanked the Scarlet Knights in the top of the second but they were able to get a run across against senior Nick Payero on an RBI single in the third that cut Rutgers' deficit to three, 4-1. Payero retired the side in order in the fourth before Junior Aaron Groller (Harleysville, Pa.) came on and blanked the Scarlet Knights in the fifth.
The Pirates added on in the home half of the fifth as redshirt sophomore Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.) led off with a triple and back-to-back walks loaded the bases. With two outs, Scotto stepped to the plate and swung at the first pitch he saw. He rocketed the ball over the fence in right for his second home run in as many games, doubling up the Pirates' lead to 8-1.
With Seton Hall leading 8-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Pirates loaded the bases once again and this time it was Sheehan who stepped to the dish. On a 3-2 pitch, Sheehan drove a ball to the left center field gap that scored all three runners and put the game out of reach. Senior Blaise Panzini (Spring Lake, N.J.) entered the game in the top of the ninth and sat down the Scarlet Knights in order to seal the victory.
Inside the Box Score
- No. 24 Rutgers is the Pirates' second ranked team that they've defeated this season along with beating No. 11 Florida, 6-4, back on March 13.
- Seton Hall has now won five of its last seven games and its averaging 9.2 runs per game in those victories.
- The Pirates went 3-for-6 with the bases loaded and all three of those hits went for extra bases.
- Scotto is hitting .458 (11-for-24) in the month of May over the last two season with two home runs and seven RBI.
- Head coach Rob Sheppard is now up to 485 career victories.
- The Scarlet Knights went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Up Next
The Pirates will next host a critical BIG EAST series this weekend as the Pirates take on St. John's starting on Friday at 4 p.m. at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium.
Here's the promotional schedule for the upcoming series:
Friday, May 6 vs. St. John's - 4 p.m. - Relay for Life Coffee Giveaway
Seton Hall will face rival St. John's at 4 p.m., just as Seton Hall Relay for Life is wrapping up its relay on campus. The Relay for Life team will be celebrating its accomplishments by throwing out the first pitch of the game and giving away FREE coffee to fans in attendance!
Saturday, May 7 vs. St. John's - 1 p.m. - Wounded Warrior Game
The Wounded Warrior Project will be holding a group outing at the Pirates vs. Red Storm middle game with a member of the team throwing out the first pitch!
Sunday, May 8 vs. St. John's - 12 p.m. - Mother's Day Giveaway & Youth Day
In honor of Mother's Day, moms in attendance of the Pirates vs. Red Storm series finale can pick up a FREE blue blanket at the marketing table while supplies last. Also, the Pirates invite all Youth teams to come enjoy the game. The South Orange/Maplewood Little League will be in attendance.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cinnella, Joe (2-2)
L: Parliament, Wyatt (5-1)
Batting:
2B: Lasko, Ryan 1 ; Santa Maria, Tony 1
RBI: Brito, Chris 1 ; Kuroda-Grauer, Josh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lasko, Ryan 1 ; Sleight, Evan 1
SB: Lasko, Ryan 1
HBP: Brito, Chris 1 ; Sleight, Evan 1
Batting:
2B: Grober, Steve 1 ; Moss, Michael Callan 1
3B: Gale, Will 1 ; Sheehan, Collin 1
HR: Scotto, Justin 1
RBI: McNelly, Mark 1 ; Scotto, Justin 4 ; Moss, Michael Callan 3 ; Sheehan, Collin 3
SH: McNelly, Mark 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gale, Will 1 ; Murray, Oscar 1 ; Hack, Devin 2 ; Luders, Jonathan 1 ; Grober, Steve 2 ; McNelly, Mark 1 ; Scotto, Justin 2 ; Moss, Michael Callan 1
SB: Murray, Oscar 1 ; Hack, Devin 1
HBP: Gale, Will 1 ; Grober, Steve 1
