Pirates Swept In Friday Doubleheader

Friday, March 24

South Orange, N.J.

1 p.m.

Seton Hall University

8-10

Fordham

8-14

Fordham

Seton Hall

3/24/2023 8:24:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

South Orange, N.J. - The Seton Hall baseball team collected 22 hits in a doubleheader but was ultimately hurt by the long ball as Fordham got by with a 6-5 win in seven innings in game one and completed a come from behind victory in the top of the ninth to win game two, 9-6, on Friday afternoon at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Stadium.

The Rams hit three key home runs; two in game one that proved to be the difference in a one-run game and a grand slam in the top of the ninth in the night cap. Redshirt junior Will Gale (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and junior Max Viera (Greenwood Lake, N.Y.) both registered four hits over the two games for the Pirates (8-11). Seton Hall had won four games in a row coming into Friday's twin bill.

How It Happened

In game one, starter Brennan O'Neill (Morristown, N.J.) worked a perfect top half of the first and ended the inning with his first of four strikeouts. He ran into the trouble in the second where the Rams put two runners on and capitalized with a three-run home run to center field for the game's first runs. The Pirates cut into the deficit in the bottom of the third as junior Devin Hack (Somerville, N.J.) led off the inning with a single and Gale moved him over to third with a double. Viera followed with a double of his own that cleared the bases and made it a one-run game, 3-2.

Fordham would answer with a two run two-bagger of its own in the fourth that extended the Rams' lead, 5-2, and a solo home run in the fifth pushed their advantage to four, 6-2. The Pirates wouldn't go down quiet as they entered the final frame where a two-run single off the bat of Gale with the bases loaded made it a two-run game, 6-4. It became 6-5 after Hack came home on a wild pitch with two outs but a strikeout sealed the game one victory for Fordham.

In game two, the Rams opened the scoring with a four-run top of the second but the Pirates chip away over the course of the game. A pair of RBI singles from sophomore Jedier Hernandez (Trenton, N.J.) and sophomore Pat D'Amico (Lynnfield, Mass.) in the second and third innings respectively made it a two-run game, 4-2, and the Seton Hall bullpen helped keep the Rams off the scoreboard for the next six innings.

It started with graduate student Alex Nicolosi (Stony Point, N.Y.), who worked two innings of scoreless relief, before freshman Ryan Reich (Sellinsgrove, Pa.) came on in relief to strike out the side in order in the sixth. Freshman Michael Gillen (Rochelle Park, N.J.) entered in the seventh and sat down the Rams in order before teaming with graduate student Joe Cinnella (Mahwah, N.J.) to retire the side in the eighth.

D'Amico led off the seventh with a triple off the top of the wall that was inches away from being a home run but Sylvester drove him in on a single, cutting the deficit to one, 4-3. With runners on the corners trailing by two with one out in the bottom of the eighth, an RBI single to left by D'Amico tied up the score. The Pirates later loaded the bases with two outs when Hernandez put the ball in play and the Rams committed a crucial error, allowing two runs to cross and giving The Hall its first lead of the game, 6-4. However, the Rams would come all the way back and respond with a five-run top of the ninth inning to take game two of the doubleheader.

Up Next

The Pirates will look to salvage the final game of the series on Sunday when they travel to The Bronx to face the Rams at 1 p.m.